Unemployed who stabbed and stole taxi sentenced to 18 years imprisonment
An unemployed man has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for conniving with a friend to steal a taxi.
This was after Solomon Azure changed his plea from not guilty to guilty during the case management conference stage.
The convict, Azure, together with one Brian Ibrahim Adams, both 32 years, sometime in May 2020, stabbed and robbed a taxi driver of his vehicle.
As narrated by Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor, the facts of the case were that the complainant in the case, Emmanuel Fosu Yeboah is a taxi driver and resides at Lashibi Sakumono.
The first accused Brian Ibrahim Adams, also known as Red, is unemployed and resides at Kumasi Airport Roundabout while the second accused, Solomon Azure, also unemployed, lives at Yam-Market Agbogbloshie in Accra.
In March 2020, the accused persons met at Avenor park, Accra, and became friends and have been in touch with each other since.
The second accused, Azure, is said to have informed the first accused, Adams, that he knew a man called Nana who was ready to pay a huge sum for a taxi.
The prosecution narrated that on May 24, 2020, Adams came to Accra and lodged with Azure. The two hatched a plan to snatch a taxi and sell.
On June 2, 2020, at about 11:40 pm, at Baastona Total Filling Station, the duo engaged the complainant’s services, who was then using a Daewoo Matiz taxi with registration number GG 2486-18, to take them to Emef Estate, Lashibi.
According to Chief Inspector Ahiabor, Adams sat at the driver’s back while Azure sat in the front seat. On reaching a spot at the Celebrity Golf Park area, Azure alerted the driver that they would alight, which the driver obliged and stopped.
Azure then walked to the driver’s door as if he was going to pay the fare. Azure is said to have opened the driver’s door, broke a bottle he was holding, stabbed the driver’s left shoulder several times, and pulled him out.
The prosecution said Adams jumped behind the steering wheel, and they both sped off, leaving the taxi driver to his fate.
The complainant reported the case to the police, and a medical report form was issued to him for treatment.
On June 3, 2020, at about 10:00 am, a police patrol team intercepted the two at Pokuase-Ayawaso Junction. A search conducted in the taxi revealed a knife and electrical wire at the back seat.
The duo was arrested and handed over to the Sakumono police for investigation.
In their caution statement, they admitted the offence and stated that they were on their way to hand over the taxi to one Nana and Didda. They were later charged with the offence and put before a court.
Adams on the other hand is still in police custody since he chose to maintain his not guilty plea. The case continues on October 12, 2021.