Police in Monrovia have charged and sent to court Transport Ministry’s Coordinator for Decentralization Oliver Dillon on murder charge for the death of Emmanuel Koffa, Jr., which occurred on 12 April in Gardnerville.
Hours after being turned over to the Monrovia City Court Wednesday, 17 April, Mr. Dillon, a brother of opposition Liberty Party (LP) official Darius Dillon, was transferred in handcuff to the Monrovia Central Prison where he is expected to remain in custody while awaiting his indictment.
Police say Dillon had left his residence at midnight to collect some items from his vehicle parked at Supermarket in Gardnerville when he was engaged by victim Emmanuel and two other men in the darkness when the incident occurred.
According to police, victim Emmanuel was armed with scissors while defendant Oliver Dillon was armed with a knife, when the deceased and two other men surrounded the accused in the darkness.Investigators reveal that the area in which the incident occurred is noted to be a crime breeding area.
Further the findings say the incident scene is infested with criminal gangs who rain terror on peaceful residents to take away their belongings.However the police findings detail that “there is no history of quarrel or misunderstanding between the victim [Emmanuel] and accused [Dillon] and there was no arrangement for them to meet at the place of the incident.”
Given the police’s own analysis of the event leading to the death of Emmanuel, it leaves one to wonder how investigators resolved to levy a murder charge against defendant Dillon.
In a murder case investigators want to establish that the accused had planned with malice and criminal intent to take the life of another person prior to the killing of that person as a reason for levying a murder charge which carries maximum penalty of death or life time imprisonment upon conviction.
Another thing is that when investigators determine that a death occurred under a circumstance like scuffle, tussle or fistfight that was not planned against the victim, they would consider charging the accused with manslaughter, which also carries much less penalty when convicted.
In the case with Dillon and the late Emmanuel, police indicate that they had no prior history of misunderstanding, and there was no arrangement for them to meet at the place of the incident.
Police findings indicate that defendant Dillon and victim Emmanuel Koffa, Jr. lived far apart in different communities.
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The deceased allegedly left his residence to look for his unnamed boss man at Supermarket where he encountered the defendant at about 0230 hours in the morning.
Defendant Dillon usually parked his vehicle opposite Jetty Trading Corporation at Supermarket, according to the findings, and he and his fiancée were victimized by robbers on separate occasions.
On 12 April, the defendant is said to have parked his vehicle around 12:00 Midnight and went to his house.
While at home, Oliver is said to have decided to use his computer but couldn’t find his reading glasses and one of his cell phones.
He subsequently realized that he left the items in his vehicle that was parked, according to the charge sheet.While going back to collect the items from his vehicle, defendant Dillon is said to have armed himself with a long knife.
While approaching his vehicle, investigators explain that defendant Dillon encountered three men, including victim Emmanuel who was armed with scissors.Emmanuel was said to have engaged Dillon in the darkness, and defendant subsequently got surrounded by the men.
In the process, police say Dillon pulled out the knife and allegedly stabbed victim Emmanuel Koffa, Jr., twice in his chest “with aggression and malicious intent.”
However the police say Dillon’s alleged action caused the rest of the two men to flee from the scene and began to mobilize other “thugs” who transformed themselves into an angry crowd.
The thugs turned – angry crowd began chasing Dillon and calling him rogue. But police established that Dillon ran into his community, got into the fence of Vision Motel, locked the gate and hide himself in the generator room.
Investigators say Dillon sought refuge in the generator room until police arrived there and took custody of him along with the alleged criminal agency.
From their background investigation, police reveal that victim Emmanuel Koffa’s mother Hewina Johnson and his roommate Prince Beyan alleged that the deceased had gone out that night to look for his unnamed boss.They claim that Emmanuel’s unnamed boss is a truck driver who lives at Supermarket, Gardnerville. But police say the family are yet to identify the alleged bossman or call his name.By Winston W. Parley
