How suspected chicken thief who had escaped from police cell got himself arrested
A robbery suspect who escaped from custody at Ruiru Police Station in Kiambu County blew his own cover after he was arrested for the theft of 250 chicken valued at Sh200,000.
The suspect, Dennis Atitwa Atenyo, is now facing charges of stealing the chicken belonging to Ellam Muchira at Buruburu Farm in Ruai within Nairobi on the night of February 21 and 22 this year.
Mr Atenyo is accused of stealing the chicken jointly with his accomplice Jane Muthoni who was charged with the same theft on February 23, 2023.
The Makadara Law Courts heard how on that night unknown people scaled a perimeter wall to gain entry into Mr Muchira’s farm and stole the chicken. The suspects also stole several crates of eggs during the incident. The suspect fled undetected since there was a power outage on that night.
Mr Muchira was informed of the incident by a neighbour, who saw suspicious people transporting chicken on a motorcycle followed them to a shop, where they delivered the stolen goods. The incident was reported at Mawe Mbili Police Station.
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Mr Muchira later went to the shop with police officers where they found 74 chicken stolen from his farm, leading to the arrest of Ms Muthoni, who owns the shop.
In addition to the theft charges, Ms Muthoni was also charged with handling suspected stolen property contrary to section 322 (1) (2) of the penal code. In the charge, she is accused of dishonestly retaining the 74 chicken in the course of stealing them knowing or having reasons to believe them to be stolen property.
Mr Atenyo had been on the run until he was arrested on June 20, 2023 after Ms Muthoni implicated him. During investigations, police in Kayole established that Mr Atenyo was wanted by their counterparts in Ruiru.
The accused denied the charges before Makadara Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Ann Mwangi.
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Prosecution Counsel Christine Achieng had told the court that Mr Atenyo is facing other charges of robbery with violence contrary to section 296 (2) of the penal code at the Ruiru Law Courts vide court file number 1109/2019.
Ms Achieng told Ms Mwangi that Mr Atenyo escaped with his accomplices on November 20, 2019 while in custody awaiting to be arraigned for hearing and has been on the run until he was arrested in connection to the recent case.
The prosecution counsel sought stringent bond terms saying that the suspect is a flight risk having escaped from the police custody.
One of Mr Atenyo’s accomplices was convicted of the violent robbery charges and is serving a 20 years’ jail term while the other was found guilty of handling stolen property and has completed a three years’ jail term.
The accused person was released on a Sh150,000. The case will be mentioned on August 31, 2023 when it will be consolidated with that of Ms Muthoni.
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