Offer of No Evidence for Possession with Intent to Supply Class A Drugs
Our client was stopped by police and found to be the single occupant of a vehicle from which the police recovered 50 wraps of class A drugs and a stolen mobile phone. Our client was said to have acted evasively and accepted giving the police false details. He was arrested for possession with intent to supply class A drugs and multiple driving offences. Due to this being his third class A drugs trafficking offence, if convicted our client was facing a mandatory minimum custodial sentence of 7 years.
Defence at the police station
Our client submitted a prepared statement at the police station denying any knowledge of the drugs or the phone and inviting the police to DNA test the packaging of the drugs, which he stated would not be linked to him. Police charged him with two offences of possession with intent to supply class A, the theft of the phone and the driving offences, and our client was remanded into custody.
Defence enquiries
Our client maintained that he was not guilty of the drugs and theft offences, and provided detailed instructions regarding how he came to be in the vehicle. We took multiple defence witness statements and gathered defence evidence which supported the client’s account.
Our representations
We submitted defence evidence to the Crown and made representations that the decision to charge our client should be urgently reviewed. We also argued that the police’s failure to properly investigate this matter and to DNA test the packaging of the drugs as requested by our client amounted to a failure to investigate all reasonable lines of enquiry.
Our defence statement, drafted by Counsel, also requested a full explanation for the police’s failure to preserve key evidence and to DNA test the drugs and their packaging. On the basis of our representations, the Crown did not oppose our bail application, and our client was released on bail and reunited with his family.
The Outcome
The Crown offered no evidence in respect of the drugs and theft allegations against our client. The driving offences were remitted to the magistrates’ Court.
Our client was overjoyed to avoid the 7 year mandatory minimum custodial sentence. He responded to the news saying “Phoebe thank you so much for the work you put in you are on point, you guys are wicked, thanks for getting me bail, for chasing the cps, the crown, for always returning my calls and messages, updating my family as well and writing to me. I’m so happy thank you. Big up Phoebe Coleman. Big up Amy Cox. Big up Sonn Macmillan Walker”.
This case was prepared by Head of Litigation Amy Cox, who was assisted by her trainee Phoebe Coleman. Roderick James of Crucible Chambers was instructed Counsel. Matt Hood represented this client at the police station on behalf of Sonn Macmillan Walker.
