In this case police charged our client with 2 x Aggravated burglary and 2 x Stealing. The allegations related to burglaries committed on a commercial premises. There were multiple co-accused and the case relied on CCTV footage and also recent possession of items said to have been stolen during the different burglaries.

We progressed the matter to a trial in the Magistrates Court and by doing so, obtained full disclosure of all the evidence from the police. On review, it was plain there were multiple issues with the prosecution case against the client. Firstly, the bulk of the stolen property was located in the co-accused’s possession, and this person had not provided any statement against the client. This evidence accordingly was not admissible against our client.

Secondly, the CCTV footage from the first burglary was blurry. Whilst you could make out some tattoos that broadly appeared to match tattoos located on the client’s body, the footage arguably wasn’t clear enough to satisfy a Magistrate beyond reasonable doubt that the client was the offender.

Thirdly, the only other evidence was said to be the location of a stolen item within the client’s home, and alleged admissions that the item was stolen. Again, on review, it was plain the client had not admitted anything, merely directly answering a question from the police officer as to whether the client had an item similar to that seen on the officer’s phone, rather than admitting that they had possession of an item stolen during the burglary. Further, there was no evidence whatsoever that the camera in the client’s home was stolen during the burglary. There was no serial number provided from the commercial premises, and the item within the client’s home had a different model number to the stolen item.

We liaised with the prosecution prior to trial. After successful negotiations, the prosecution agreed to drop all charges apart from one burglary, which would be amended to a trespass.

The client accepted the offer and at sentencing received a small fine and a spent conviction order.

This fantastic outcome meant the client went from facing a serious penalty and criminal convictions, to a modest penalty and no criminal conviction.

The client was very happy with the outcome in this matter.