Court convicts, remands driver's mate for stealing and causing harm

The Ashaiman circuit court presided over by His Honour Simon Nketiah Gaga has found a driver's mate guilty on two counts and remanded into police custody pending mitigation and sentencing.

He is to reappear in court on the 30/11/2023. Daniel Tetteh, aged 38 pleaded guilty, convicted, and remanded into police custody on two counts of stealing: contrary to section 124 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, Act 29, and causing unlawful damage: contrary to section 172 of Criminal Offences Act 1960(Act 29) and was accordingly remanded into police custody pending mitigation and sentencing. Prosecution; Chief Inspector Samuel Aperweh watching brief for DSP Dorothy Boadu Peprah in charge case read the Number 9947 D/PW/L/CPL Whitney Naa Komey I/case told the court that the complainant Kuffour Kwadwo age 51 years is a driver residing at Golf City, Ashaiman.

The accused person, Emmanuel Tetteh aged 38 years is a driver's mate residing at the China Mall area, Ashaiman. 

He told the court that both the complainant and the accused persons had been working together for the past seven months.

The complainant owns a Sprinter vehicle with registration number GW 8063-16 and normally park the said vehicle at the Ashaiman China Mall area where the accused person sleeps every night. On 23/10/23 at about 0400hrs the complainant as usual left the vehicle with the accused person to sleep in it and went to his house.

On 24/10/23 the following day, the complainant came to where the vehicle was parked but both the vehicle and the accused person were not found. An official complaint was lodged with the police at Ashaiman District Headquarters on the same day.

The complainant upon a tip went to Agona Swedru where he saw his sprinter vehicle parked along the road and dismantled. He inspected it and found out that parts including the car's engine, gearbox, shaft, back axle, water tank, and brand-new tires were removed.

On 08/10/2023, a further tip-off led to the arrest of 4 persons who assisted police in getting the accused person arrested. Investigations revealed that the accused after dismantling the aforementioned vehicle, sold the same to three of the above-mentioned persons and also sought the services of one witness who happened to be a mechanic to remove the engine and some other parts as the car owner had bought a new one to fix. 

Surveillance was laid at the scene by witnesses where the accused person abandoned the vehicle the aforementioned parts were removed. 

On 9/11/2023, he surfaced with some scrap dealers in an attempt to sell the skeleton vehicle but upon seeing the police, he took to his heels but was arrested and brought back to Ashaiman District Headquarters.

The accused person admitted to the offences in his cautioned statement and told police he drove the vehicle without authorization, lied to four witnesses that the vehicle had developed a fault with the engine and that the complainant had sent a new engine from Accra to him to fix in the vehicle.

The vehicle is yet to be towed from Agona Swedru to Ashaiman.

The accused person was charged to court and put before this honorable court.