By Saio Marrah
Justice Ansumana Ivan Sesay has sentenced one Edward Borsordau Smith to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to stealing items from student hostels at the Fourah Bay College in two separate cases.
Smith was first sentenced to five years in the first case of housebreaking and stealing and seven years in a second case on a similar offence.
The court heard that on the 22nd of July 2022, Smith entered the dwelling house of Anthony Sullay Lahai, and stole the following items: one HP laptop computer valued at NLe 5, 000, one Tecno Mobile Phone valued NLe 3, 400, and one Bluetooth speaker valued NLe 250. He also stole one black leather wristwatch valued at NLe 350, and NLe 1, 500 in cash.
Details of the second case for which he was sentenced to seven years are that on the same 22nd July last year, he broke and entered the dwelling house of Daniel Jeffry Jeremy Sama and stole one plasma television valued NLe 3,500 and one standing fan valued at NLe 750 among other items plus cash.
However, state prosecutor Jessie Tucker told the court that the items in the second case were recovered.
When asked to explain the circumstances leading to the theft, the convict said he was a taxi driver when the complainant in the first case, who is a student, hired him to drive him to the hostel. According to him, when they arrived at the hostel the complainant left him inside his room and told him he wanted to sell his computer.
He said while waiting in the room other students entered and asked him what he was doing there and that at that point they arrested him and took him to the police station. He said that was after they had waited for Anthony Lahai for a while.
The convict said he was at the station when another police officer came in and accused him of another house-breaking and stealing affair.
Justice Sesay dismissed his explanation describing it as false. He said he couldn’t believe that a student would leave a stranger in his room while going out to sell a computer.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (19/05/23)
