On Thursday the 30th January 2025, seven defendants were sentenced for their roles in repeated efforts to kidnap, rob and falsely imprison a vulnerable victim for significant volumes of crypto-currency. As well as being tied up and burned, the victim was threatened with a prohibited firearm.
The sentence hearing followed a 6 week trial last summer in which Robert Smith was instructed as Lead Prosecuting Counsel. In total the defendants were sentenced to more than 76 years imprisonment.
The case involved the presentation of numerous strands of evidence, including the calling of the complainant over multiple days, expert opinion from a crypto-currency analyst, telephone and cell site material and DNA analysis.
Because the offences took place over an 11 month period, preparation of the case involved consideration of how the interconnecting strands of evidence could be presented in a logical and clear way to the jury.
During the course of the trial and sentence hearings, Robert Smith was ably assisted by Tobias Collins and Adam White, acting as junior counsel.