Justin Yang's client acquitted of shotgun armed robbery after trial.

Justin was instructed to represent a defendant who was alleged to have used a sawn-off shotgun in robbing the complainant of several Rolex and Audemars Piguet watches, as well as other luxury items worth over £100,000. The case against the defendant included footage of the defendant in a nightclub with the firearm visible in his waistband just hours before the allegations of armed robbery. CCTV evidence later showed the complainant and the defendant walking to the defendant’s car with some of the allegedly stolen items visible in the defendant’s hands. There were photos of the watches on the defendant’s phone.

The complainant did not attend trial due to concerns regarding potential repercussions in giving evidence. However, as he had immediately phoned police after the defendant had left him, this satisfied the res gestae exception to the prohibition of hearsay evidence and the court allowed his statement to be read to the jury.

With meticulous attention to detail, Justin scrutinised every stage of the police investigation and was able to highlight a number of problems with the prosecution case. Ultimately, after 5 days at Croydon Crown Court, the jury returned with a unanimous verdict of not guilty.

Justin was instructed by Ben Darabi and Stefan Sutherland of Carson Kaye Solicitors.