Conspiracy to GBH in Gang Shooting - CPS Drops Case

Case study summary

Our client stood trial at Birmingham Crown Court. He was accused of setting up a gangland hit on a rival who was shot but survived. We pressured the CPS to drop the case because of flaws in the evidence. During the trial they finally gave up, and our client was found Not Guilty.

Case study

Our client was charged with Conspiracy to commit Grievous Bodily Harm under s.18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 following a shooting in 2018. He was alleged to have tricked somebody into coming to a place where that person was shot. However, he then had taken this person to hospital himself, probably saving his life.

He was bailed without charge for over a year, which for a case where GBH and firearms are involved is very rare. The client felt unfairly targeted because the victim was his friend and he had been responsible for saving him, which he said were not the actions of a guilty man.

We pressured the prosecution pre-trial on several occasions pointing out that their case simply did not make sense. We briefed a specialist barrister with a background in firearms and conspiracy cases who continued by pressuring the CPS barrister on our client's behalf once the case reached court. The Judge then also called for the prosecution to reconsider whether it wanted to continue against our client. Eventually the CPS gave up and offered no-evidence against our client.

The Judge ordered the Jury to return Not Guilty verdicts.

Our client was delighted that finally his ordeal was over and he could return to his normal life.