Crown Court Case R v Rollins

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Moses Barrett
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1 Crown Court Case

2 Summary of Facts The Queen v Ashley Rollins (Case 1) Ashley Rollins, the Accused is charged with possession of a firearm without a license. Ashley Rollins was found to be the passenger in a car, and under the passenger seat was a pistol. A witness suggests that the passenger must have seen and then moved the pistol when getting into the car. Ashley Rollins denies this and provides an explanation for his/her actions which could explain why he/she didn't see or touch the weapon, which was in a car belonging to someone else. There is some forensic evidence which supports the prosecution view that Rollins knew about the gun and had touched it, but that evidence isn t strong enough to decide the question for certain. Possession of an item is proved if the jury is satisfied that the Accused knew about the existence of an item and had control over it. Ownership is not a necessary element of possession. You can possess something belonging to another. The question of possession can be a difficult one for juries. In this case, it wouldn t matter in deciding Ashley Rollins guilt that the pistol perhaps belonged to Reagan Knuckles Malloy. If the surrounding circumstances satisfied the jury that Ashley knew about it, and tucked it out of sight under his seat as the witness suggests, then they would convict him of possession of the firearm. In the absence of an admission of knowledge of the pistol by Ashley, the jury will have to look at the surrounding circumstances to see what they can infer about Ashley s state of knowledge. If they were satisfied that the firearms discharge residue found in the pocket was not explained by Ashley s father s statement, then that might satisfy them Ashley himself had some illicit involvement with guns, and make the decision about possession easier. There is no doubt that the item is indeed a firearm, nor that Ashley Rollins didn't have a licence allowing him/her lawfully to possess it. The Law It is a serious offence just to possess a firearm without a licence, contrary to the Firearms Act (1968) section 5(1)(aba) It is particularly serious if it is a pistol and that crime carries a minimum five year prison term, unless there are exceptional mitigating circumstances. 2 Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

3 IN THE HIGH COURT AT HILLSIDE HER MAJESTY S ADVOCATE V Ashley Rollins Ashley Rollins is charged as follows: STATEMENT OF OFFENCE POSSESSION OF A FIREARM, contrary to the Firearms Act (1968) section 5(1)(aba) PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE On the 1st day of March 2018, in a vehicle on the Westbound carriageway of the M328 motorway in Mouldhampton, you ASHLEY ROLLINS did possess a firearm with a barrel length less than 30cm in length, namely a Colt Woodsman self loading pistol, contrary to the Firearms Act (1968) section 5(1)(aba) Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

4 Notes All the witness statements that follow are signed by the witness and bear this declaration: This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated in it anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true. Only the underlined evidence is in dispute, either because (it is suggested) the witness is not telling the truth or because the witness has made an honest mistake as to what s/he saw or heard. There is no dispute as to those parts of the statement that are not underlined. 4 Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

5 Prosecution Witness Statement 1 Name Mo Brennan Age 18 Occupation Student Date 2nd March 2018 On the evening of 1st March 2018 I set off for a run about 9 o clock, even though it was raining. After about a mile I pulled up next to the pizza shop on Old Oak Tree Way to clean the rain from my glasses. I happened to look into a brand new white Range Rover parked at the kerb and saw on the floor in front of the passenger seat what looked like a pistol, lying on some kind of old rag. I had a good look through the glass and since I was certain that s what it was I phoned the police on my mobile. I gave them the registration number which was X25 QQU. I hung about for a while to see if the police came, but then two youths came out of the pizza shop and climbed into the car. I didn t see them carrying anything. I had tucked myself away behind some bins in case they saw me, and through the gaps I saw the passenger reach down towards the footwell in which I had spotted the gun and do something with his hand. Then the car roared off towards the motorway really fast. I could see the passenger lean back in his seat under the acceleration. I m a bit of a racer myself and I know what acceleration like that feels like. The passenger was dressed like a tradesperson which I thought odd in such a fancy car. I couldn t identify the passenger if I saw him/her again because of the rain on my glasses. Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

6 Prosecution Witness Statement 2 Name Police Sergeant Whittaker Age 52 Occupation Police Officer Date 2nd March 2018 I am a sergeant in the Mouldhampton Police Force. I am 52 years of age and I have been a police officer for 26 years now. On the night of 1st March 2018 we were informed by a witness called Mo Brennan that motor car registration number X25 QQU was heading out of Mouldhampton on the M328 with a suspected firearm in the vehicle. As the head of the tactical firearms unit I immediately mobilized my team and through the heavy rain we sighted the suspect vehicle on the Westbound carriageway, when we were quite close behind it. We alerted the vehicle occupants to our presence by turning on the siren and blue lights and the vehicle swerved onto the hard shoulder where both driver and passenger jumped from the still moving vehicle. The passenger came out like a shot, but then seemed to freeze when he/she saw us. We were able to capture the passenger, the Accused Rollins, near to the vehicle but the driver escaped. I saw the driver though, and recognized him as Reagan Knuckles Malloy. We all know him by sight, he/she is known to the police. Whilst I issued commands to my team over the noise of the traffic in the hope of heading off the driver, I m sure I heard Rollins say he/she just gave me his jacket. I noticed Rollins to be wearing a fluorescent workman s jacket. I didn t know why he/she said that then, but my attention was on the hunt for the driver. He/she didn t mention anything about a gun. I can t think of why anyone would have asked him/her about his/her jacket at that time. It seemed an odd thing to say. I searched the car and found, with my police issue torch, a pistol wrapped in a cloth concealed under the passenger seat. Where I found it, you wouldn't have been able to see it from outside the car so it must have been moved or somehow slid under the seat from where the witness Brennan reported seeing it. We seized both the pistol and the cloth as evidence in the case, as well as Rollins fluorescent jacket. These were passed on to our laboratory in due course. I produce the gun as exhibit JN/1 and the cloth as exhibit JN/2. I later checked the DVLA database and the white Range Rover was indeed registered to Reagan Knuckles Malloy. A warrant is still outstanding for his arrest. 6 Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

7 Prosecution Witness Statement 3 (Section 9 Statement) This statement is simply read out in court by the legal adviser. Nothing in it is disputed and the Defence has no questions to ask this witness. Name Louis Chipper Age 32 Occupation Forensic Scientist Date 12th March 2018 I am trained in firearms examination; DNA analysis; and Firearms Discharge Residue analysis. On 10th March 2018 Police Sergeant Whittaker brought in a pistol; a cloth; and a jacket for us to test. The pistol was a Colt Woodsman self loading pistol. You need a special licence nowadays to own or possess one. It wasn't loaded. Ashley Rollins didn't have such a licence. Nor did Reagan Knuckles Malloy. We tested the cloth and found DNA from three human sources on it. One source matched our database results for Knuckles Malloy. One matched the DNA from Ashley Rollins. The third is from a stranger, not listed on the police database. The presence of DNA from Ashley Rollins is, in my opinion, consistent with Ashley having touched that cloth. You don t have to touch something to leave your DNA on it though. Sometimes skin cells or hairs can fall from a person onto a surface without them touching it. They would just have to be near it. We also tested the fluorescent jacket. In one of the pockets we found Firearms Discharge Residue (FDR) which is a chemical compound you commonly get from a recently fired gun or spent ammunition. The presence of FDR in that pocket is consistent with a pistol such as the one in this case having been in that pocket. I accept though that the FDR could have come from any other firearm or spent cartridge too. I can t say when the FDR was deposited into the pocket. Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

8 Defence Witness Statement 1 (Defendant) Name Ashley Rollins Age 18 Occupation Body builder Date 2nd March 2018 My name is Ashley Rollins and I am a personal trainer. I m eighteen now. I recently joined up with a modelling agency run by a businessman/woman called Reagan Knuckles Malloy. He/she is looking after my interests and trying to get me some sportswear modelling work. I am not a body guard for Knuckles Malloy. I don t know why people say that. It must be my size. As far as I know Knuckles is an honest businessman/woman. I ve never heard anything to the contrary. I have heard his/her nickname is Knuckles, I think this is because he/she has a habit of clicking his/her knuckles. On 1st March 2018 Knuckles took me out to get some food. Knuckle s Range Rover is white with dark windows. It s got 25 inch chrome alloys on it. A proper businessman/woman s car. We stopped for a pizza and when we got back in to the car I moved the seat back to give me room to hold the food on my knees. The seat adjuster was at the side, but I had to root about with my free hand to find it in the dark. Knuckles shot forward because he/she was showing off how fast the car was. He/she was always doing that- screeching to a halt or zooming about. We went onto the motorway. Suddenly there were police everywhere. Knuckles slammed on the brakes and I spilled the hot food onto me. It burned my legs and so I jumped out to get it off me. I was detained by the police. I m sure one of them asked me about the jacket I was wearing. It s a great big workman s jacket that I borrowed from my dad. I told them that it was his/her jacket, meaning my mum/dad. I know my mum/dad has been in trouble for guns before but that was years ago. I m told Firearms Discharge Residue was found in the pocket. You d have to ask dad/mum about that. I know he/she has worn the jacket out hunting rabbits. They say they found a gun under the passenger seat. That isn t my car and it definitely isn t my gun. I have never been in trouble with the police before. I knew nothing about the gun. 8 Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

9 Defence Witness Statement 2 Name Dale Magnum Rollins Age 40 Occupation Trader Date 2nd March 2018 I m Ashley s mum/dad. I m 40 now. I make some money selling rabbits and pheasants I shoot on a farm nearby. I like the stealthy nature of shooting. It reminds me of my time in the Army. I have been shown a fluorescent jacket. It s a roadman s jacket. That s mine. I wear it hunting. Ashley sometimes borrows it because it fits both of us. I must have had spent cartridges in the pockets hundreds of times. That ll explain the FDR (firearms discharge residue). I know a bit about FDR. I was caught with a shooter back in the 1990 s. I spent ten years in jail. Ashley doesn t know anything about that though. My wife/husband and I told him I was working offshore on the oilrigs then. Ten years on, ten years off. Kids will believe anything you tell them. Ashley s a good kid. Never in any trouble. I know Ashley got shot a few months ago but I m sure that was a mistaken identity thing. He/she wasn't badly injured, thankfully. I know Knuckles from my time in prison. This is his/her doing. He/she s notorious for his guns and drugs. Everyone knows that. I know he/she s still on the run but I wish he/she had done the decent thing and told the police the gun was his/hers. Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

10 EXHIBIT JN/1 10 Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

11 EXHIBIT JN/2 Citizenship Foundation 2016 Charity Reg. No

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