30-yr technician jailed 65 years for attempted robbery

Aflao, Nov. 3, GNA - An Aflao Circuit Court on Tuesday slapped a 65-year jail term on Laurence Afavi, 30, an electronic technician at Klikor for conspiracy and attempting to commit robbery.

Afavi, who got five years for conspiracy and 60 years for attempting to commit robbery, to run concurrently, pleaded guilty.

Mr Francis Agbogli, Chief Inspector of Police told the court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri that Afavi and one other person now on the run recruited others with the intension of robbing Jacob Asimadi, a Businessman at Agbozume.

He said two of the supposed robber recruits, hinted Mr Asimadi and later the police about the plot and eventually became decoys. Mr Agbogli said on the day of the robbery, October 30th this year, police took cover at the residence of Mr Asimadi at Adawukope, a suburb of Agbozume, waiting for Afavi and gang.

He said when Mr Asimadi arrived home from his shop at about 1900 hours, Afavi and others including the decoys rushed on him and with a knife pointed at him demanded he handed over all monies on him.

Mr Agbogli said the police then moved to disarm Afavi, but Gbogbo, the accomplice managed to escape and is on the run. Afavi pleaded for leniency saying it was Gbogbo, who sold the idea to him.

Mr Obiri in a remark before pronouncing sentence said he would be failing in his duty if he did not give Afavi a jail term that would serve as deterrence for other robbers.