By: Jacqueline L. Dennis

IPNEWS-Monrovia: A 35 year-old-man identified as Yakuba Sheriff, a resident of Barnersville Daybreak Mouth Open Community, on Friday February 3, 2023, was forwarded to the Monrovia City Court by the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Monrovia for recklessly killing one Christian Somah who allegedly stole from him, and despite several appeals by the deceased father, Abraham Somah while in custody of the defendant to have mercy on him.

Defendant Sheriff, was arrested, informed about his constitutional rights, investigated and subsequently charged with the alleged crime of Manslaughter, Recklessly Endangering Another Person and Felonious Restraint for Recklessly Causing the Death of Victim Somah, after he and his accomplice Lahai Kamara and Sumala Kiera were arrested the victim in a garage owned by him defendant Sheriff,  restrained the victim Christian Somah  now deceased, eventually beat him after perceiving the victim as a criminal who entered said garage to commit theft.

The act of the defendants is in violation of Chapter 14, Sub chapter “A” Section 14.2, section 14.23 and 14.51 respectively of the revised Penal Code of the Republic of Liberia.

According to the court documents, during the investigation conducted with officers of the LNP, detail information revealed that on January 19, 2023, defendant Sheriff received a call from his garage boys Lahai Kamara and Sumala who were serving as security in the said garage and informed him that Somah now (deceased) entered their garage in possession of a scissors attempting to harm them, but they managed to overpower him (Somah).

The court documents said based upon the call he (Sheriff) received from the garage securities, he immediately left his Dry Rice market residence along the Barnersville road and went to the garage fence and met the victim in the custody of his garage boys who beating him with a wires, while the victim hands and feet were tied.

The documents revealed that after few hours, the victim’s father Abraham Somah went into said garage after hearing that his son was caught by the defendant Sheriff and saw his son being beaten in the process. The victim’s father Somah appealed to defendant Sheriff to untie his son so that they could come to an agreement to recover his properties allegedly stolen by his son, or take him to the police station instead of beating him. But the defendant accordingly refused to release the victim Somah (deceased) on grounds that four of his vehicles that were parked in his fence were auto boosted and several parts were missing.

According to the court documents copy of which is in the possession of IPNEWS, while severely beating  the victim he began to get helpless, that is when Sheriff and his garage securities brought  him out of the garage and placed him in front one Mohammed Trawalay’s house, which is directly opposite the said garage. Mr. Trawalay demanded them to remove the victim from his yard as he did not want anyone to die in his yard.

However, victim Somah (deceased) was still in the custody of defendants Sheriff, Lahai, Kamara and Sumala Kiera and others to be identified when he (Somah) started losing consciousness.

Despite several appeals from the victim’s father to have his son released by the defendants, they paid deaf ears so he (Abraham) decided to run to the zone four police station to report the matter. Upon the police arrival on the scene, the victim was helpless and was taken at the John F. Kennedy hospital where he was pronounced dead and the corpse was deposited at the Saint Moses Funeral Parlors for preservation pending Coroner Inquest or post mortem examination.

Meanwhile, defendant Sheriff awaits court trial.