R v ES 2019 S.18 wounding with intent

James O’Donnell represented a defendant charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The Defendant’s vehicle cut up a HGV causing it to suddenly brake and narrowly avoid a collision. The Defendant then drove in a dangerous manner to confront the driver of the HGV. He produced a knife and stabbed the 70 year old victim to the chest. Following the incident the Defendant fled to Northern Ireland however was arrested some months later. Despite being in Northern Ireland the Defendant was able to contact our firm to receive legal advice from a Solicitor. He was later on conveyed back to Hertfordshire and received vital legal advice from his Solicitor of choice whilst at the police station. Due to the strength of the evidence against the Defendant, namely clear CCTV and the presence of his vehicle, he was given crucial legal advice regarding credit for a guilty plea at the earliest stage. Once the case was before the Crown Court we were able to argue full credit of 33%. James O’Donnell also liaised almost daily with Defendant’s family and medical professionals to compile a bundle of mitigation. The Crown Prosecutor submitted that the offence was a category 1 offence with a starting point of 12 years. Defence Counsel, Mimma Sabato was able to strongly mitigate and persuaded the Judge that the case had a lower starting point. The Defendant received 3 years and 8 months.