Ruling of no case to answer in trial of armed street robberies

Alex Benn appeared on behalf of a defendant acquitted on the ninth day of trial in Cambridge Crown Court, following a submission of no case to answer.

The prosecution accused a number of defendants of committing street robberies at night, armed with a machete, a metal bar and other weapons. This particular defendant was also said to have used the machete to stab one witness.

The issue in the case was identification: whether the police had wrongly accused this defendant of being involved. The court held several voir dires to decide the admissibility of evidence. The prosecution relied on high-quality CCTV of a person whose full face was visible, with no mask or covering. The officer in charge also claimed to have recognised the person in the CCTV as this defendant. However, during her evidence in court, the officer accepted that she had made up her mind before she had ever met this defendant. An eyewitness then described the person with the machete as white, which was not the race of this defendant.

Alex submitted that there was no case to answer because the evidence was inherently weak and inconsistent with other evidence. The court accepted the submission, despite the quality of the CCTV.

After a day’s adjournment to consider the position, the prosecution confirmed that it did not seek to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeal. The court directed the jury to return verdicts of not guilty in respect of this defendant. The jury later convicted the co-defendant. Another defendant had already pleaded guilty to the charges in Cambridge Youth Court.

Alex Benn appears on behalf of people accused of crimes and has represented those tried for allegations including causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do so, witness intimidation, serious sexual offences and computer hacking. Read more: [Alex Benn Profile]

Alex was instructed by Charlie Jones of Bal Dhaliwal Solicitors.