A Police Officer stationed at the Formed Police Unit (FPU) Depot Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, Corporal Raymond Larweh, has described Pius Ayoma, the man standing trial for attempted murder as a “slippery” guy.
Ayoma he said, broke two handcuffs prior to successfully handcuffing him by tiring his two hands at the back before handcuffing him with a third one.
According to Corporal Laweh, who was stationed in Sandema in the Upper East Region, on February 8, 2020, while in charge of a police vehicle from Sandema to Fumbisi on patrols, had a call from Sandema District Commander Supt. Samuel Ntosoh, about a suspect at Fumbisi through an informant.
Pius Ayoma, 23, was a private Security man and has been charged with attempted murder, robbery, and sexual assault. But has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is facing a jury trial.
In his Evidence-in-Chief to the Court and the Jury while being led by Mrs. Sefakor Batse, a Principal State Attorney, the 9th Prosecution Witness said, Ayoma (accused) is a slippery guy.
It was the testimony of the Witness that, he was in the company of five other colleagues who went to the house at Fumbisi where they met an informant who took them to where accused was.
He observed that, the house is “more like a compound house with four rooms and three of the rooms’ door were not locked.”
He added that, out of the four rooms, one is a mud-room that was locked with a small “padlock.”
The Witness also said, when they got to the house, they met an Old Lady and a young man.
It was his testimony that they informed them that they were looking for the accused but they said he was not in the house.
CPL Laweh said the Patrol team members decided that they will search the rooms with two officers while the remaining officers remained at the back of the houses.
It was the further testimony of the Witness that, they were allowed into the three (3) rooms that were not locked but upon their search, they could not find the suspect.
Search, struggle
While clarifying that, two of them searched those three rooms with the remaining four keeping watch, he said they decided to go into the room that was locked.
But, said “the Old Lady and the young guy we went to meet at the house struggled with us,” that they will not allow us to go into that room.
He said, that brought about a struggle between them but finally “we were able to break the padlock and entered the room.”
The Witness said, upon searching the room, initially, they could not find anything but as they were about to leave the room, they saw a table with a paper card board box placed in front of it.
He said, there was a millet and corn on top of that box and he then pulled the cardboard box forward, that was when he saw the accused person under the table.
Gun shot
He told the Court that, he saw the accused and just when he wanted to inform his colleague that he entered the room with, the accused fired a gun at him, and “I felt a sharp pain on my upper forehead.”
Slippery accused, broken handcuffs
It was his testimony that, he and the accused engaged in a struggle in the room, and “We struggled for a long time.”
He testified that the accused “was a slippery” guy and “I could hardly hold any part of his body but fortunately got he got his head under my armpit.
He said, he called his other colleagues and when they came in to handcuffed him, he turned his hand and it got the handcuffs broken
He said the accused repeated the same thing again which got a second handcuff broken and had to use a rope to tie his hands at his back before they could handcuff him with a third one.
He also told the court that the gun shot attracted people to the scenes since it was a market at Fumbisi.
And the people who came around wanted to take the accused from them but they rushed him into the car.
He said, the mob them attacked “my colleague who was holding the suspect’s rifle” and “they took the rifle from my colleague and we drove away.”
He said, that in a search conducted on him, they found four (4) live cartridges and one iPhone.
He said, a colleague took a picture of him (witness) and after that, he was given a medical form to go to the hospital.
Source/ Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
