Millennium Chambers is pleased to report a successful outcome secured by Jabeen Akhtar, who represented the defendant in a serious firearms prosecution heard at Crown Court.
The defendant faced a single charge of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. The prosecution alleged that he had been involved in a prior stabbing incident and that, on the occasion in question, he had attended an address as one of three men and had pointed a firearm at individuals present outside the property. A further male was alleged to have been in possession of a large knife during the same incident. The case was one in which the identification of the defendant was central to the prosecution’s case, with the principal identifying witness described as a distant relative of the defendant.
The prosecution relied upon CCTV footage and the account of this identifying witness, who alleged that the defendant had been the driver of a vehicle present at the scene and had directed a firearm at those gathered outside.
Jabeen Akhtar conducted a detailed analysis of the available CCTV evidence and advanced successful legal arguments to adduce body-worn footage and 999 call recordings. This material was deployed to demonstrate that the identifying witness’s account was inconsistent with other contemporaneous records, undermining the reliability of the identification evidence upon which the prosecution’s case depended.
Following a contested trial, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts.
Jabeen Akhtar appeared for the defence and was instructed by Lexis Solicitors.
