Client found Not Guilty of Robbery after Trial

Our client was charged with two counts of Robbery, stealing three bottles of alcohol from two different newsagents on two successive days. On both occasions the shopkeepers alleged that some violence was used in the course of the thefts. The first use of force was minor, but the second shopkeeper alleged that our client pushed him into a shelf with significant force. Our client accepted stealing the bottles on both occasions, and pleaded guilty to the first robbery on the basis that he used a small amount of force. He pleaded not guilty to the second robbery, as he did not accept that he had used force in the course of that theft.

The prosecution successfully applied to adduce the guilty plea to the first offence as bad character in the trial for the second. Nonetheless, after a six-day trial the jury unanimously found our client not guilty.

After mitigation, our client was given an eight-month suspended sentence with an alcohol treatment requirement.

Lorena Lowen had conduct of this case, assisted by Hugo Cheema-Grubb. We instructed Alexandra Monaghan of Crucible Chambers.