Celebrating our Successes
We want the public to know about some of the really excellent work that our lawyers, caseworkers and other staff in Wales do on a daily basis.
So we are now publishing, each month, examples of projects or cases where work by individuals should be celebrated.
I am proud of the fantastic work that our staff in Wales carry out and I hope you take some time out to read about some of our successes.
Jim Brisbane
Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Cymru-Wales
April 2012
String of successes in drug supply cases
Complex Casework Unit and Regional Asset Recovery Team: Brin Hurford, Felicity Galvin, Paul Taylor, Jayne Lawlor, Catrin Evans, Kathy Loosemore, and Diane Brearley, plus Suzanne Thomas, Mandy Williams, Ann Williams and Pam Williams.
A very strong partnership between the CPS and police in dealing with organised crime (notably on drug supply cases) and the resulting asset recovery issues in Wales has received significant praise this month, including a Judge's Commendation. The High Sheriff of Cardiff organised a presentation event at the Mansion House in Cardiff to recognise the work of the police and CPS teams. Just after the event was held, Suzanne, Mandy, Ann and Pam had another major success resulting in significant sentences, totalling over 130 years, for over 20 drug dealers.
March 2012
Superb handling of a very emotive case
Crown Advocate David Wooler, Paralegal Officer Katie Perry, Gwent Trials Unit Administration Team, Witness Care Officer Sally Stock and the Gwent Witness Care Unit Team
This very high profile case involved the rape and murder of heavily pregnant 19-year-old Nikitta Grender, the destruction of her unborn child, who had already been named Kelsey-May, and arson. The case attracted strong feelings locally, with some in the community questioning why two murder charges had not been laid.
Knowing that homicide legislation could not apply to the death of the unborn child, but realising the importance of a separate charge to recognise what happened, David Wooler charged Carl Whant, the murderer, with a rarely used piece of legislation - the crime of Child Destruction, dating back to 1929 - relating to the death of Kelsey-May. He then went to great lengths to explain the reasoning - and the fact that murder charges cannot be brought in crimes against unborn children - to the local community and the wider public via the media.
Paralegal officer Katie Perry, assisted by the Gwent Trials Unit Administration team, carried out a massive amount of work to support the case through court in a thoroughly professional manner. The public and press galleries were always packed, often with people locked out - which meant that even getting in and out of the court room was sometimes a battle. With over 50 witnesses, the case was also a challenge for Sally Stock (WCO) supported by colleagues in Gwent's Witness Care Unit, who handled the workload with great professionalism.
February 2012
Success in child sexual exploitation case
At Newport Crown Court in mid-January, Basharat Javid was jailed for four years and three months after pleading guilty to paying for the sexual services of a child and sexual activity with a child. The week before, Rigobert Mudingay received a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to paying for the sexual services of a child. Both men were also required to sign the sexual offenders register.
The case, which was handled by the Cymru-Wales Complex Casework Unit, was a highly complicated and delicate one which involved our team working closely alongside Gwent Police, local authority social services teams and Barnardos Cymrus Seraf Service.
The two men were found to have specifically targeted vulnerable children and young people. Reviewing lawyer Suzanne Thomas had to be aware of the particular sensitivities involved as well dealing with a large amount of information relating to a number of individuals under suspicion. Investigations into some of those individuals are continuing.
The predatory and exploitative nature of the crimes and the particularly vulnerable nature of the victims created an extremely sensitive environment in which the CPS team had to work. Our team prosecuted under S.47 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The thorough construction of a robust case led to guilty pleas from the two defendants, sparing the victims from having to face a trial.
After the sentences, Catrin Evans, Head of the Wales Complex Case Unit, said: "Javaid Basharat and Rigobert Mudingay are responsible for insidious, exploitative offences which cannot be tolerated in any civilised society. We hope that these sentences make it absolutely clear to those who seek to exploit young and vulnerable people that the prosecuting authorities will work tirelessly to bring them to justice."
At sentencing, The Judge commented on the significant difference in the maturity of the defendants and victims, stating that Javaid and Mudingay were sexual predators in that the offences were planned and pre-meditated.
January 2012
Team members commended for outstanding prosecution
Senior Crown Prosecutor (SCP) Suzanne Thomas, Caseworker Mandy Williams, SCP Grenville Barker, Former Complex Casework Unit (CCU) Head Tom Atherton, Senior Crown Advocate Mike Jones, Paralegal Assistant Jenna Reardon and CCU Casework Support Officer Ann Williams, CPS Wales
John Cooper was convicted in May 2011 of two notorious double murders that took place in Pembrokeshire in the 1980s. Cooper remained undetected for many years and the case became one of the most notorious unsolved cases Wales has ever known.
A dedicated team of CPS staff Suzanne, Mandy, Grenville, Tom, Mike, Jenna and Ann worked tirelessly over a number of years to build the prosecution case for Operation Ottawa.
Just before Christmas, a number of the team received official recognition for their roles by being awarded Commendations from Dyfed Powys Police Chief Constable Ian Arundel.
The police investigations and eventual prosecution were the largest in Welsh legal history. The prosecution case was painstakingly assembled after a cold-case review revealed new forensic evidence that led police to Cooper. The CPS team involved undertook the massive task of preparing and presenting an astonishing amount of evidence.
When the trial started, the prosecution room at Swansea Crown Court was filled with evidence files and background material and this represented only about a fifth of the total material generated by the case (the rest was kept at a storage facility and ferried to court if required). Finally, all this hard work led to the conviction and sentencing to life imprisonment of a man who continued to deny having any involvement in the crimes.
Gerald Elias QC, prosecuting counsel, subsequently described the investigation and prosecution as: "One of the finest I have seen in my career."
December 2011
Serial Rapist jailed for 18 years
Prosecutor Kath Coleman and Paralegal Officer Katie Perry worked hard to help secure a lengthy sentence for Edwin Smith the perpetrator of a string of serious sexual offences covering a 20-year period dating back as far as 1985.
The case involved very lengthy and detailed pre-charge work between the CPS and Gwent Police's specialist sexual offences unit, Onyx. The case became increasingly complex it was initially built around two victims but, as things developed, two further victims were identified. Smith was eventually convicted of 13 offences including eight rapes. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. This result is testament to the excellent work that Kath Coleman has put in over the last year or two to develop strong links with Gwent Police's Onyx Unit.
November 2011
Positive result in complex conspiracy case
Crown Advocate Sandra Subacchi and team worked in close partnership with North Wales Police on this complex conspiracy to rob case.
Defendants Warner and Levey were found to be involved in a violent burglary in Mold in 2010. Masked men had entered the victims' home and threatened to kill them before tieing them up and fleeing with £100,000 in cash as well as jewellery worth over £50,000.
Warner's blood was found on a roll of empty duct tape that had been used to tie up the victims. The case against Levey was that he had identified the property to Warner and others as a potentially lucrative robbery target, having visited the home a month before. Police and prosecutors pieced together a detailed case based largely on tracking data from Levey's phone and Warner's car.
Warner, who had previous convictions for robbery, received a custodial sentence of 16 years. Levey, who was of previous good character, received a sentence of 10 years.
October 2011
Challenging VAT fraud case: R v Maguire
Paralegal Assistant Julia Burt drew praise for her work on Operation Ukraine (R v Maguire). Julia was commended for her excellent handling of a particularly challenging case involving potential pool of some 75 witnesses. Julia picked this case up at only two days notice, when other CPS staff were called away at short notice to work on cases relating to the outbreak of disorder around the country. She had to deal with times of attendance changing at minutes notice and spent a lot of time following up enquiries with prosecuting counsel so that she could warn witnesses to attend court. She also took care of all the case photocopying, updating of jury bundles and any other required tasks.
September 2011
Praise for lawyer on Rebecca Aylward murder case
This highly sensitive and high profile case attracted strong feeling locally, in small communities near Bridgend. Widely reported on as being the 'breakfast bet' murder, Joshua Davies and his friend had blamed each other for the killing. Reviewing lawyer Richard Killick handled the case with great sensitivity and in the end, Davies was convicted on a 10-2 majority after four days of jury deliberations. Richard's efforts on the case were subsequently praised by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
August 2011
Newtown lawyer commended for work on historic sexual abuse case
Senior Crown Prosecutor Stephen Davies received a commendation from Dyfed Powys Police for his work on a historic sexual abuse case in mid-Wales. The citation read: "Stephen Davies is commended for his high level of commitment and diligence demonstrated throughout the investigation and prosecution of Operation Marino. Stephen provided professional investigative advice and was extremely supportive and positive in his approach to the enquiry."
Complex retrial handled professionally
This case involved the murder of Karen Skipper in Cardiff and dated back to the mid-1990s. Karen Skipper's husband originally stood trial for her murder and was acquitted. John Pope was convicted in 2009, but a key witness later stated that her original statement was wrong, leading to the Appeal Court ordering a retrial. At the retrial, Pope was convicted again. This was a highly sensitive case handled very professionally by Grenville Barker of our Complex Case Unit, leading to praise from the Chief Crown Prosecutor for Wales
