Alpha Gbankay, Santigie Kamara, Francis Conteh, Mohamed Conteh, Alie Koroma, Anthony McCarthy and Ibrahim Koroma have been sentenced to imprison for riotous conduct on related offences.
The Accused persons, where arraigned before Magistrate Elizabeth Sheila Bangura of the Port Loko Magistrate Court.
The accused person were charged with four count charges ranging from riotous conducts, disorderly behaviour, throwing missiles and exclusively carrying offensive weapon by the second accused person, Santigie Kamara.
According to the particular of offenses, the accused persons on Monday 23 and 26 June 2023 at Madigbo Junction in Lunsar Town – Marampa Chiefdom North-West region, behaved in a riotous and disorderly manner to the Deputy Superintendent of Police N’baimba Sillah.
Testifying in court, DSP Sillah told the court that the accused persons were throwing missiles at a team of police personnel headed by the Officer Commanding, Operations Support Division (OSD) Lunsar.
Representing the eight accused person, lawyer Mohamed Kori of the Legal Aid Board, acknowledged the fact that the crimes for which his clients were charged with are very serious in law.
He plead to the magistrate for them to be discharged, adding that the court should consider their offer of a minimal fine instead of a custodian sentence in an event the magistrate chooses to hand down a custodian sentence on the accused.
Defence counsel informed the court that some of the accused persons were school going boy while others were breadwinner of their respective families.
He told the court it would be too devastating for their families if a custodian sentence handed down on them.
He pleaded with that magistrate to consider the fact that the accused persons had not wasted the precious time of the court by entering a guilty plea from the onset.
I honestly fully realized the gravity of the offences they committed; lawyer Kori told the court.
After listening to the mitigation plea of the defence counsel on behalf of all accused persons, Magistrate Elizabeth Shelia Bangura sentenced each accused to ten months imprisonment or pays a fine of Eight Hundred Thousand (Le800,000) Old Leones to the state through the National Revenue Authority (NRA).
The second accused, Santigie Kamara was sentenced to eighteen Months imprisonment or pays a fine of One Million Five Hundred Thousand (Le1,500,000) Old Leones for carrying an offensive weapon.
