By Tokpa Tarnue- tarnue82@gmail.com
VOINJAMA, Liberia- The 10th Judicial Court in northwestern Lofa County has sentenced a 31-year-old man to 20 years imprisonment for both murder and armed robbery.
Wolubah Lape was indicated by the grand jury of the court on August 29, 2018 for allegedly killing a 28-year-old motorcyclist identified as J. Barkolleh Tokpah along the Suclumu –Zorzor high way in Lofa County
Convict Lape was arrested on August 13, 2018 around the Soul Clinic Community in the Monrovia suburb of Paynesville with the motorcycle belonging to the deceased, Tokpah.
The young motorcyclist was discovered dead on Friday, August 8, 2018, between Suclumu Town and Zorzor City, many miles from the provincial capital, Voinjama.
Family members at the time disclosed that the cyclist, before being allegedly murdered, was seen on three different occasions that faithful day transporting palm oil from Yarpeah to Zorzor.
The defendant, who pleaded guilty at the court, said he did not know what came over him to have committed the act although he first denial the act following his arrest.
The court said in this case, after the incident, the defendant escaped from the crime scene with victim’s motorbike and fled to Monrovia, where he was apprehended in Soul clinic, Paynesville being in possession at the time with the victim’s motorbike.
Despite his guilty plea, juries at the court handed down a unanimous guilty verdict against the defendant for the crime of murder, which is a felony of the first degree in keeping with section 14.1, P. 794 of the penal law; as well as Armed Robbery in keeping with section 15.32 of the new Armed Robbery Law.
“Under the circumstance, the defendant is hereby sentenced to twenty (20) years for each of these crimes; however, since the defendant was incarcerated on August 27, 2018, and has already spent ten months in detention, these ten months are deducted from the said sentence consistent with section 34.2 of 2LCLR, P413. He shall now serve nineteen (19) years two (2) months in prison for each crime mentioned above and shall run concurrently,” Resident Judge Nancy Sammy concluded.