Murtala Mohammed, a 26-year-old man who scaled the wall into his neighbour’s house, stole a water pump, and began fleeing the crime scene when an alarm was raised by a neighbour, unknowingly headed towards a nearby police barracks where he was arrested.
Mohammed pleaded guilty in the Adenta Circuit Court, presided over by Her Honour (H/H), Ms Sedinam Awo Balokah, but claimed he was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing and begged forgiveness.
The judge ruled that Mohammed’s defence of being drunk was insufficient justification for the crime.
She added that this did not give him legal immunity from facing the consequences of his actions.
As a result, Mohammed was found guilty on his own plea and sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour.
The convict was accused of climbing the complainant’s fence wall into her home to commit the crime by cutting water pipes and stealing the water pump, which he then threw over the wall.
According to the prosecutor, C/Insp Lanyo, on February 28, 2023, around 10 a.m., a neighbour of Ms Agyapong who was passing by the complainant’s house noticed an object thrown over the house’s wall.
According to the prosecutor, the neighbour then took a closer look at the object that had landed behind the house and realised it was a water pressure pump machine.
Mohammed was then seen scaling the complainant’s wall and landing near where the pressure pump had fallen, according to him.
The neighbour then raised an alarm, prompting Mohammed to flee.
According to C/Insp Lanyo, Mohammed unknowingly ran towards a nearby police barracks, where he was apprehended and returned to the crime scene, where he was identified by a witness/neighbour.
Investigations revealed that Mohammed had entered the complainant’s house while she was away with the intent of stealing the GH2,950 pressure pump. According to the prosecutor, he did this by cutting the pipes that connected water from her poly tank to her rooms.
He went on to say that following the investigation, Mohammed was charged with three counts, including unlawful entry into the complainant’s home, causing damage, and stealing.
After hearing the case, H/H Balokah sentenced Mohammed to two years in prison on count one (unlawful entry), one year on count two (causing damage), and three years on count three (stealing), all of which should run concurrently, implying that the maximum number of sentences should be served, which was three years.
Source: Adomonline.com
