R v Ah

This case involved serious allegations of burglary and theft within a multi-occupancy property in Birmingham. Our client faced two charges following an incident where a bluetooth speaker was stolen from another resident's room. Through strategic legal representation, we identified the most defensible elements of the case. The defendant ultimately received a total custodial sentence of 15 months custody.

The incident occurred in a shared house where both the defendant and victim lived. The victim reported to police that the defendant had entered their room without permission and stolen a Bluetooth speaker. During the confrontation, the defendant became aggressive and threatened to cause harm with a knife, although he later returned the speaker. When police arrived to arrest the defendant, he made numerous threats against them. While being searched, he used multiple homophobic slurs against an officer, citing his religious beliefs. Later, in custody, he refused to provide a sample for a mandatory drugs test, stating he would rather be charged for the refusal.

The defendant faced two charges:

• Count 1: Burglary - The defendant pleaded not guilty to entering the room as a trespasser and stealing the Bluetooth speaker. Burglary involves entering a building a s a trespasser with the intent t o steal, or stealing anything after having entered as a trespasser.
• Count 2: Theft - The defendant entered a guilty plea to stealing the Bluetooth speaker. Theft is the dishonest taking of another person's property with the intention of permanently depriving them of it.

Our criminal defence team represented the defendant at Birmingham Crown Court. We worked alongside Barrister Francesca Perera and Solicitor Advocate Ash Ahmed from ASL Solicitors to provide comprehensive legal representation. Given the difficult circumstances—including our client's aggressive behaviour, threats to police, and refusal to provide a drug sample-our strategy was to carefully assess which charges were realistically defensible.

We identified the burglary charge as the most legally contestable element and advised the client accordingly. For the theft charge, to which the client entered a guilty plea, we prepared detailed mitigation submissions to present at sentencing, focusing on his personal circumstances.