Interesting Cases

Important and Interesting cases that we have dealt with.

R v B (Importation of Drugs)

We took conduct of this case following a recommendation. B faced a substantial charge which brought with it potential for custody well into double figures.

The case involved drugs being imported from the Netherlands into the UK and then collected by persons suspected to be involved in organised crime. Border force had intercepted one of around 20 packages bound for a North Wales address and found it to contain 20kg of high grade cocaine.

B was said to be linked to the address and it was suggested he had handled some of the packages. Detailed examination of the evidence was required over a lengthy period of time and following a full trial B was acquitted of all charges.

R v F

This was a case again involving the importation of drugs however this was via the means of the Channel Tunnel. A Motorhome hired in Cheshire had been stopped by Border Patrol and found to have controlled substances on board.

Operation Olympia

Operation Olympia was a Cheshire Police operation targeting the supply of heroin and crack cocaine throughout Cheshire and North Wales.

The Police used undercover officers to test purchase Class A drugs, together with surveillance evidence and telecommunications evidence, to ascertain those individuals that were, to varying degrees, involved in the supply of drugs.

It goes without saying that the volume of evidence was extremely high and a great deal of detailed analysis was needed in order to represent our client.

R v S

An incredibly difficult Merseyside case involving the premature death of a baby.

We dealt with the case from the very beginning at the police station through the the full Crown Court trial. The case involved the detailed consideration of medical and other evidence to present a case in extremely difficult circumstances given the emotion involved in such a matter.

R v P and R v H (Dangerous dog cases) 

Often these cases are particularly difficult to deal with, not only because they can involve serious injury, but also there are the issues regards destruction of a family pet.

The cases of P and H were both dealt with by our Andy Holliday. Both cases involved young children being savagely attacked by the family dog.

In the case of P, the family pet was a fully passported, well trained family pet that was said to have ‘completely adored’ the victim. One day, for reasons the family still cannot fathom, the dog lunged at the girl’s neck and started to throw her around like a doll. Luckily, P was in close proximity and managed to get the dog off the girl and into the garden. He immediately called an ambulance and when Police also arrived he consented to having the dog destroyed.

At court P was dealt with via a conditional discharge. The District Judge stated he felt he was a good, responsible dog owner and in finding that he did not disqualify P from owning any other animals.

H was very similar however this involved a family staffordshire terrier which had attacked the face of H’s very young baby leaving scarring which would be present for life. Again, the attack had come completely out of the blue and she consented to having the dog destroyed. She also received a conditional discharge.

R v W

A case which stands out as W stood to lose everything as a qualified nurse facing an allegation of racism. Following a full day trial in Llandudno, W was found Not Guilty after the witnesses were not consistent under cross-examination.

R v T

A motoring case involving a taxi driver who stood to lose his licence which would have been catastrophic for him and his family. The matter involved a notorious junction in Wrexham whereby T was driving and was said to have caused the complainant to have fallen from his motorbike. Under cross-examination however the motorcyclist accepted he took his hand off the handbars to gesture at T which we argued was the reason behind him coming off his bike, nothing to do with our manoeuvre. T was found not guilty and of course kept his licence ensuring his job was safe.

R v S

We deal with a large amount of motoring matters, particularly hardship applications but this matter stood out. Mr S faced a disqualification after accumulating 36 penalty points! The matter was dealt with at Wirral Magistrates Court whereby the court granted Mr S his hardship application which meant he was able to keep his job and his life from financial ruin.

FAW v Cefn Albion FC

We represented local football team Cefn Albion FC in respect of allegations of racism which would have effectively ruined the club, as they faced a threat to their home pitch and a place in the league as a result.

The FAW hearing was convened in Caersws whereby following consideration of the written, verbal and video evidence obtained and produced to the FAW tribunal the allegations of Racism were found not proven.

R v M & R v H (Hunt Sabs)

2 separate cases where we represented members of a group who stop illegal hunts from taking place (often referred to as hunt saboteurs). They had successfully intercepted an illegal hunt and were alleged to have committed assault offences against persons on the hunt. M had a matter which went to full days trial in Llandudno Magistrates Court whereby she was acquitted of any wrongdoing. In light of the finding in her case, H, who’s matter was linked but was due for a separate trial, had his case discontinued by the CPS.

R v P

An incredibly unusual case involving the supply of MDMA into prisons via photographs and letters being soaked in the substance allowing it to then be used by prisoners. A significant amount of drugs are thought to have gotten through to the prisons this way leading to a new policy being enforced by Her Majesty’s Prison Service whereby all letters and photographs are now photocopied before being given to prisoners.

R v F

A case of perverting the course of justice after F was found to be hiding her boyfriend (who was wanted by Police for serious offences) in her car boot as they were attempting to flee the country.

R v W

Linked to the above case was a drugs conspiracy whereby a large amount of drugs and firearms were found at a Wrexham address. W contested that she knew nothing of the drugs conspiracy or firearms and following consideration of the evidence and representations the case against her was discontinued by the CPS one week before the Crown Court trial was due to take place.

R v G

A Liverpool £2 million drugs supply case involving a supply chain from Liverpool to London and Eire. Drugs were found in a lorry bound for Holyhead port as well as in a vehicle from the London area. They were linked via telephone and forensic evidence and our Alun Williams represented G in Liverpool Crown Court.

R v J

A section 18 wounding case from a Liverpool prison whereby upon consideration of the unused there was material evidence which completely undermined the prosecution case. Representations were made which lead to the matter being discontinued.

R v C & H & R

A drugs supply case following significant Police surveillance of a property in Caia Park whereby deals were done in a covert manner as the property backed onto an alleyway.

R v W

An arson with intent to endanger life whereby a dwelling house was burnt to the ground, totally destroying the property.

Operation Lenten

We represented 2 males who were facing catastrophic, life-changing allegations of historic sexual abuse.

The case involved a large amount of evidence and a significant amount of client care and interaction. Both clients were acquitted following trial. M’s case was dismissed following submissions to the Judge following us identifying a significant breach in the identification procedure which meant that the identification of M could not be relied upon in evidence. W was acquitted by the jury following a 4-week trial.

 R v F (and others)

Case involving the illegal trafficking of immigrants from France to the UK dealt with in Canterbury Crown Court. A lengthy trial with significant telephone evidence.

Operation Bullfight

A drugs conspiracy case involving 15 defendants. A case which involved the transport and supply of drugs throughout the North West trafficking firearms and Cocaine to a value in excess of £2 million.

R v H, J & J

A drugs supply case  we dealt with in Truro Crown Court in Cornwall.

R v R

A case involving the theft of computer equipment and laptops from the NHS. A case which was not straight forward as the theft was committed by replacing equipment which was due to be updated with second hand or refreshed items whilst ordering brand new and then keeping those items for re-sale.

R v B

A dangerous driving case which hit the national press after a Police officer was run over in the street whilst trying to effect an arrest on B.

R v J

A drugs supply case deal with in Mold Crown Court following a Police covert operation and seizure of significant firearms and £500,000 worth of drugs.

R V W.

W was arrested with 2 other people for Murder 4 years after the disappearance of a former house mate who was found to have been murdered. The body of the deceased had been encased in concrete and concealed in the rear garden of the house they had once occupied.

This case involved extremely complex scientific and factual issues and resulted in an aquittal of our client after a five week trial at Chester Crown Court. The other two defendants represented by other firms were convicted of Murder.

R V BW

BW was driving a minibus which was involved in an accident with a motorcyclist which resulted in the rider receiving fatal injuries. BW was charged with causing death by careless driving. The Police Collision Investigator was of the view that BW was at fault and the CPS made a decision to prosecute. As part of our case investigation we identified a witness that the Police and CPS had ignored and also other important evidential features resulting from a reconstruction exercise we commissioned using an independent expert.

As a result of our efforts the Jury at the trial considered all of the available the evidence not just the ‘edited highlights’ and concluded that BW was not guilty.

R v MR

R was captured on CCTV shooting a male in the head at close range and was subsequently charged with murder.

R had been the subject of a prolonged campaign of violence by a criminal gang over a period of years during which he had been attacked with a shotgun, samurai sword and other weapons. He had armed himself as a means of protection.

At trial we argued self defence stating that the extremely dangerous position he had found himself in justified using lethal force to defend himself. The defence was accepted and he was found not guilty.

R v S & others – Sham Marriages.

Recently concluded representing S who was alleged to be the organiser of a group of Indian and Lithuanian nationals who were involved in a number of sham marriages designed to gain permanent residence status in the United Kingdom.

R V D

D charged with offences of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life following a long running investigation into the nationwide supply of firearms being used in gangland shootings between Manchester, Yorkshire and London.

R V M

Case involving major drugs supply and money laundering operation from Netherlands into the U.K.which following a major seizure of drugs and largest amount of cash siezed in North Wales , linked into a drugs and firearms supply ring in South Wales, Midlands and Europe.

Police v AE

AE was alleged to have driven dangerously through Wrexham Town Centre after failing to stop for Police Officers. Officers were unable to catch AE on the night however he was located some weeks later via his car registration details.

AE was charged with Dangerous Driving and taken to court. AE was facing a potential prison sentence, a disqualification from driving and his employment as a mechanic was in jeopardy.

After investigation our Solicitors found that the police had failed to serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution and had not interviewed AE within the 14-day time limit.

Our solicitors successfully argued that the prosecution could not lawfully proceed. The charge was dismissed against AE without the matter going to trial.

R v W and R v M

Two separate cases of armed robbery relying on DNA evidence.

In the case of M he had been advised to plead guilty by his first solicitors as they told him he could not possibly win his case.

A friend of his recommended that he seek our assistance.We undertook extensive analysis of the evidence and pressed the CPS in both cases for further information and challenged the reliability of the evidence.

In each case as a result of the challenges we made each client was found not guilty.

OPERATION BAROMETER

We have recently represented two defendants accused of offences relating to the supply of class A drugs in a case involving enquiries throughout 5 police force areas and significant quantities of drugs being trafficked. Our Solicitor-Advocate representing one of the clients at the Crown Court who was the only one of 31 defendants not to be sent to prison for supplying cocaine.

This is one of a number of large scale national drugs supply conspiracies we have undertaken work on over the past years representing clients from locations throughout the U.K. who have sought our assistance after hearing of our growing reputation for dealing with serious crime matters.

Operation Trimeter

We represented a number of defendants involved in firearms and supply of class A drugs in Wrexham and North Wales. We represented 6 of the defendants all of whom had varying roles and involvement. The case involved covert listening devices being placed in vehicles over a period of 4 months and mobile telephone call and mast data which required detailed scrutiny.

Operation YOM

We represented 4 defendants in a 9-month undercover surveillance operation involving 9 persons involved in the heavy duty couriering large amounts of class A drugs between North Wales and Merseyside. The majority of the evidence came from physical camera surveillance from a property in Wrexham which also included covert voice recording equipment being installed in an office and a motor vehicle. Following on the case a 3-year proceeds of crime investigation involving detailed analysis of our client’s acquisitions and holdings which resulted in us halving the amount of money the Police were seeking.

R v MP 

An exceptional case involving a Dog that was dangerously out of control and caused injuries to a schoolgirl. The unusual thing about this case was the dog was a family pet that had shown no aggression towards it’s owners in the 2 years they had had the dog. The dog caused puncture wounds to the girl’s neck and she needed hospital treatment. P was prosecuted despite the fact he has wrestled the dog from the girl and had it destroyed after contacting Police. On the guidelines the sentence had a potential starting point of 18 months custody, however due to the unusual circumstances we successfully argued that a conditional discharge should be put in place rather than custody.

R v JC

A case where JC was found in possession of drugs and charged with supply offences based on a Police expert’s report which we successfully challenged resulting in a charge of simple possession offence and avoidance of a custodial sentence.

R v RJ

A case where RJ had been charged with transporting items into the prison based on a ‘mixed DNA profile’ on the wrapping. The matter was listed for a trial despite numerous representations regards the poor quality of the evidence. It took submissions before the Crown Court to finally have the matter dismissed.

R v JH

This was an unusual case in that it involved a client escaping, whilst handcuffed from the Police. He remained at large for 3 hours, still in handcuffs where he was found hiding by the hospital in Wrexham Maelor, seemingly not having been able to find a blacksmith to break him out of his handcuffs.

POLICE V C.

C was a taxi driver involved in a traffic accident in which an elderly pedestrian received injuries which caused him to be hospitalised. Case involved challenges to the use of ‘expert’ police evidence regarding accident investigation and also complicated medical issues which resulted in a not guilty verdict being reached at trial.

SEXUAL OFFENCES

Due to the sensitive nature of this type of case we never publish any details of individual cases. However we have extensive experience of dealing with many different types of sexual allegations which more frequently involve defending allegations of historical sexual offences. During January, 2015, three such cases, two of rape and one of sexual touching have come to trial with all of our clients being found not guilty of all charges.