Roger Smart was instructed as leading counsel in the prosecution of three defendants who possessed two loaded firearms, ready to fire, and who drove an untraceable Range Rover dangerously in order to avoid a pursuing police vehicle. They were travelling in a three-car convoy in which various other weapons were also found, namely a lock knife, a truncheon, and a handgun resembling a Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol.
All three defendants were unanimously convicted, following a five-week trial of possessing the firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Another defendant, travelling in a separate vehicle, was convicted of possessing the weapons found within it. Two other defendants were convicted of seeking to pervert the course of public justice by making false reports to the police that the Range Rover used by those in possession of the loaded handguns had been stolen prior to its use in the firearms offences.
The case involved complex issues concerning telephone call data, DNA evidence, bad character applications, firearms expert evidence, gang affiliation material, and associated criminal activity involving the operation of a drug line.
Roger had previously prosecuted one of the defendants for possessing three firearms and associated ammunition with intent to endanger life on a separate occasion. That defendant now falls to be sentenced in relation to all five firearms.
Roger is a specialist in firearms-related matters, having acquired extensive experience of UK-issued and foreign weapons through service in the British Army, as well as through recreational shooting. He frequently delivers training on firearms offences.
Roger was instructed by Gillian Travers and Steven Goodger and was supported by the Senior Management Team of the Crown Prosecution Service.
Roger Smart