Court frees ‘sleeping thief’

The Asamankese District Court in the Eastern Region has set free a suspected thief who fell asleep while on an alleged stealing operation in the residence of a Seventh Day Adventist Pastor on Sunday dawn.

Pastor Asare Nyarko and his family were utterly shocked to have found the suspect Richard Yeboah, 27, deeply asleep on the man of God’s bed having broken into the room through the ceiling to ostensibly steal .

He and his relatives had gone to church and returned around 12:30 am to see the house in the dark as all the security lights were off.

Pastor Nyarko upon going round the house with a torch light to find out what might be happening entered his home and realized that the doors had been forcibly opened and their belongings ransacked.

He said upon stealthily entering their room with some Elders of the Church, they found the suspect deeply asleep in their bedroom, following which they made a report to the police. However the Police failed to accompany the couple home but urged them to take pictures of the suspect for evidence.

Pastor Nyarko then returned home and woke the suspect up by shaking him several times. They arrested him handed him over to the police.

The police after their investigations charged him for unlawful entry and damage to property and arraigned him before court.

The Asamankese District Police Commander, Superintendent Appiah Anane in an interview with Kasapa FM’s Daakyehene Ofosu Agyeman stated that the suspect told the court that he had traveled from Oda, and because he was feeling very tired, he wanted somewhere to pass the night and so entered the home of the pastor which is an uncompleted building to find a place to lay his head.

The Judge, his Honor Ayittey Tetteh after hearing the case said in as much as the suspect entered the house unlawfully, he found no criminal intent in the actions of the suspect as he didn’t steal anything from the home of the Pastor when he clearly had the opportunity to do so.

He asked the suspect to go and sin no more.