Elliott Moulster, in-house advocate instructed by Paul Block, acted for TW who faced two separate indictments at Chelmsford Crown Court. One indictment consisted of a residential robbery involving the use of a weapon by a co-defendant. The second consisted of an entirely separate charge of arson, without endangering life, occurring at a residential address and whilst TW was on bail for the first indictment.
This was a case that could realistically have resulted in a significant period of immediate custody. The Prosecution’s Submissions regarding the robbery indictment suggested a starting point for the sentence of five years imprisonment. In contrast, the Prosecution’s suggested starting point for the arson indictment was one of nine months albeit, as the offence was separate from the first indictment, this was highly likely that this would be on top of the first sentence.
Notwithstanding the above, Elliott was able to convince the Court to both depart from the above starting points, and ultimately pass a Suspended Sentence Order. This was done by persuading the Court to reach a combined starting point for both indictments of 24 months imprisonment and by convincing the Court that this sentence could be suspended considering TW’s significant personal mitigation. Achieving this result was also greatly assisted by the detailed basis of plea, drafted by Paul Block at the very start of the case, that was instrumental in ensuring that the Court truly understand the extent of TW’s involvement in these serious allegations.