Daniel Nkansah, a farmer based at Asin-Fosu in the Central Region, who travelled to Suhum in the Eastern Region with a gang to rob a shop, was on Friday sentenced to three years in prison in hard labour by the Asamankese Circuit Court.
He pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of implement for unlawful act and unlawful damage, unlawful entry and stealing.
Police Chief Inspector Ben Brew, prosecuting, told the court that a shop owner at Suhum locked her shop at about 1730 hours on April 25 and left for the house.
He said at about 0200 hours, Nkansah and some accomplices, now at large, arrived at Suhum on board a Tico taxi cab and went to the shop.
The prosecutor said Nkansah used a crow bar to break two padlocks the shop owner had used to lock the shop.
Having succeeded in entering the shop, Nkansah and his accomplices packed some of the items in the shop into the taxi.
A witness who was sleeping in a kiosk close to the shop, saw Nkansah holding the crowbar and shouted "thief, thief" and the taxi cab sped off with the accomplices leaving Nkansah behind.
Nkansah took to his heels but was chased and later arrested and when he was searched, necklaces were found in his pocket.
He was later handed over to the police with the crowbar he had used in breaking into the shop