GT Stewart represented G who was charged with two shop thefts, assault and dangerous driving. It was alleged that G had stolen low-value goods from a shop following which a security officer followed him, got in his car and tried to search his bag. G tried to remove the security officer from his car. The security officer tried to get back into the car and G drove off, which caused the security officer to fall out of the car and injure himself.

G pleaded guilty to the two shop thefts, but not guilty to the assault and dangerous driving.

At trial, the security officer accepted he had no lawful right to enter G’s car nor to search his bag without consent. He accepted that he was asked to leave the car numerous times but refused. The security officer accepted that he tried to get into G’s car again when G was already driving forward but said the car door was open at the time. We were able to show CCTV which demonstrated that the car door was closed when the security officer tried to get back into the moving vehicle.

We made successful submissions at the end of the Prosecution case that even taking the Prosecution’s evidence at its highest, there was no case to answer given that the security officer was unlawfully in G’s car and had that he had fallen out of the car as a result of trying to get into a vehicle that was already moving. The Court agreed and dismissed the charges of dangerous driving and assault by beating.

G was represented by Leigh Nisbet and then at trial by Ed Youlton, from our Leeds crime team.