By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- For just US$10, a young man in Monrovia has lost his life in a feud over alleged failure to pay the balance for a used mobile phone.
The Monrovia City Court has sent to prison 19-year-old man murdering his friend over USD$10, which he owed.
Recently (Friday September 30, 2022), the victim, Emmanuel Sheriff alias ‘Holy G’, a resident of Monrovia at about 10pm GMT got into a verbal argument with the defendant about the amount of 10 US dollars owed him by the man identified as Teddy Gartoe, for a phone he had earlier given to him for the total amount of USD$40.
Defendant Gartoe
According to Police investigation, the argument later intensified between the defendant and the deceased at which time, Sherriff was stabbed in the lower neck and jaw with a scissor. The defendant however, jumped into the Mesurado River where he swam in order to escape the scene; leaving behind his friend, Joshua Williams who the Police met on the scene of the crime.
Joshua and another who was also on the scene, Papa Kamara wsd later taken into police custody, but released to their counsellor for the lack of evidence to link them to the crime.
Victim Sherriff was later rushed to the JFK Medical Center in Monrovia’s Sinkor suburb where he was pronounced dead on arrival by medical staff, after bleeding profusely due to the injury he had sustained from the stab wound.
However, speaking with defendant Gartoe at the grounds of the Temple of Justice, he narrated that he acted in self-defense. And according to him, it was the defendant who had pull out the scissor, but he had over-powered him in order to save his own life.
Though it is not established in police findings on who had the instrument first, defendant Gartoe alleged that it was Sherriff alias ‘Holy G’ who was in possession of the instrument from the initial stage.
According to him, he had no intention of murdering his friend but regret his actions.
The crime Defendant Gartoe is charged with is said to be in violation of Chapter 14 section 14.1 of the revised penal code law of Liberia, for purposely, knowingly and intentionally using a scissor as he claimed to defend himself an in the process, murdering his friend.
Gartoe was charged with murder in accordance with the law,and was subsequently sent to the Monrovia Central Prison.
He is expected to be duly tried under a court of competent jurisdiction in line with Liberian law.