Teenager Accused of Criminal Damage - Case Closed

Case study summary

Our client was a 16-year-old who was accused of causing damage to his bedroom door in anger. We represented him at his police interview and challenged the evidence in the case before providing our expert advice. Our client followed our advice and the police dropped the case.

Case study

Our client was a 16-year-old student who was accused of damaging his bedroom door during an argument with his grandmother. The door had multiple dents in it and had been removed from its hinges. The police had photographs which showed the extent of the damage.

Our client was an existing client and requested us at the police station. One of our expert defence lawyers attended the interview and discussed the allegation with the interviewing officer. Our lawyer challenged the evidence in the case and they were able to ascertain that our client's grandmother was not supporting the police investigation and she had not provided a witness statement.

We then discussed the case privately with our client who admitted causing some of the dents to his door, however, he denied removing the door from its hinges. He explained that, during the argument with his grandmother, he had shut his bedroom door because he did not want her to enter his room. Our client's grandmother then pushed the door open with such force that it came away from its hinges.

We considered the evidence in the case alongside our client's instructions and provided our client with advice for the interview. The police subsequently dropped the case and our client was pleased with the outcome.