Alex Taylor-Camara of the Garden Court Crime Team represented the defendant and was instructed by Buki Dunbar, partner at Fahrenheit Law, assisted by Callum Wong.
Following a four-week trial at Inner London Crown Court, the jury unanimously acquitted the defendant – a young woman of good character – of possession of a firearm and ammunition found in her bedroom.
She was tried alongside a co-defendant; a man accused of possessing a revolver and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
The case raised significant legal arguments, including abuse of process, joinder, and severance. It involved complex issues of cross-admissibility, substantial phone and cell site expert evidence, and detailed mixed-profile DNA evidence, relating to the sock in which the firearm and ammunition were concealed.
The young woman was initially informed that the Crown Prosecution Service would be taking no action against her, serving her with a formal No Further Action (NFA) letter. However, several months later, that decision was reversed, and she was subsequently charged and joined to the trial of the co-defendant.
The co-defendant had been accused of attempted murder ,and further drug dealing charges. The co-defendant was acquitted of attempted murder, but was convicted of possessing the firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and the drug-dealing charges.
