Ex-convict jailed for unlawful entry and stealing
The Tarkwa District Magistrate Court One has sentenced an ex-convict, Shadrack Cobbinah, an unemployed man, to two years imprisonment with hard labour for unlawful entry and stealing.
Cobbinah pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted on his own plea.
The court said the sentence was intended to punish him for his repeated criminal conduct and serve as a deterrent to others.
Police Sergeant Adwoa Yeboah, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant, Abdul Rahman, a welder, resides at Nkamponase in Tarkwa, while the convict lives at Tarkwa Railway Station.
She said on May 16, 2026, at about 0400 hours, Rahman received a telephone call from his brother, Efo, informing him that an unknown person had broken into his room and stolen his wife’s mobile phone and money.
The prosecutor said the complainant subsequently checked the room occupied by his workers, where theft incidents had previously occurred, and found the door opened. A search revealed that four mobile phones – Samsung A16, Infinix, Tecno and Intel brands – valued at GH¢4,000.00 had been stolen.
Sergeant Yeboah said later that day, at about 1800 hours, the complainant spotted Cobbinah at the Railway Station holding an iPhone displaying a photograph of the complainant’s brother as its wallpaper.
According to the prosecution, the complainant pretended to be interested in purchasing the phone, leading to Cobbinah’s arrest and subsequent handover to the police.
During investigations, Cobbinah admitted that he and an accomplice, identified as Michell, who is currently at large, broke into the complainant’s residence and stole the four mobile phones. He also confessed to stealing an iPhone and GH¢4,000.00 from another house.
The convict told investigators that he and his accomplice shared the stolen phones and had planned to sell the iPhone later. He disclosed that one of the phones was given to a friend known as “Gameboy”, while another was kept in their room.
The court heard that an individual identified as Ahmed later presented all the stolen mobile phones at the police station, explaining that Michell had handed them over to him after learning of Cobbinah’s arrest.
The prosecution further informed the court that Cobbinah had previously been convicted in 2024 and sentenced to six months imprisonment for stealing a mobile phone and a laptop from a shop.
After serving that sentence, he and three others allegedly assaulted a person and, although granted bail, failed to reappear before the court.
Source: GNA