Jeanette Stevenson, instructed by MTC & Co Solicitors, has secured the discontinuance for her client charged with s18 wounding with intent and possession of a knife in a public place following the stabbing of a 16 year old in Derby City Centre on the 29th December 2019.
The Crown’s case was that the defendant, who was 15 years old at the time, had stabbed the complainant once to the left side of his torso. The injuries were serious and required emergency surgery. The males were unknown to each other and, following a brief encounter in the city centre, an altercation between the two had resulted in the injury to the complainant. The young defendant, who had fled the scene, was identified by the police and arrested on the 31st December 2019. He was arrested for attempted murder. In interview, the client provided a prepared statement denying trying to kill anybody and denied stabbing the complainant. At trial the Crown replied on a compilation of CCTV prepared by the police, two witness accounts from members of the public and the complainant’s ABE interview. The Crown’s case was that it was the defendant that came to the scene with the knife, he had it in his possession and he used it to stab the complainant during the altercation. No knife can be seen on the footage disclosed by the police or by any witness. The defendant’s case was that he did not bring a knife to the scene, he did not see a knife and he could not explain the injuries caused to the complainant. Following the discovery of CCTV that supported the defence case and undermined the Crown, which had not been disclosed until the morning of the trial, Miss Stevenson was able to make legal submissions in relation to an abuse of process and her client’s right to a fair trial. The Judge agreed to bring the trial to a halt and the Crown and Police were ordered to provide an explanation as to why it had not previously been disclosed and to disclose all footage seized during the investigation to the defence.
Following further submissions to the Crown, the Crown on the 29th June 2021 sent a notice of discontinuance. This brought the ordeal for the 17 year old client and his family to an end. The young client, who was of previous good character, had been facing a number of years in custody and would have had disastrous consequences on his family and his future prospects.