Break and Enter Charges

Our client was charged with breaking and entering his work place and taking a large sum of cash out of the safe. Break and Enter is a serious offence with a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

Upon further investigation, we discovered that our client’s employer was underpaying him for a very long period of time. Our solicitors appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court before a particularly tough Magistrate. We explained our client’s situation to the Magistrate, and advised that our client was also the victim in the case, and the employer was subject to a Fair Work Commission claim for wage theft.

Our client was extremely lucky and sentenced to a Community Correction Order for 18 months. We also managed to get back our client’s unpaid wages from his old employer.

What a fantastic result!

Our client was charged with break and entering with intent to steal. A witness to the break and enter had called police claiming he saw two people running from the scene.

Following a search in the area, the police saw our client and another male approximately one kilometre from the scene.  Police then arrested our client and the male accompanying him.

Our client instructed us to plead not guilty. The witness provided only a vague description of the male he had seen running from the scene. We argued that the police failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that it was our client that committed the offence.

The court agreed and the charges were dismissed against our client.

Our client was charged with aggravated break and enter, intimidation, 3 counts of breach of AVO and destroy property. These charges are very serious and would have to be dealt with in the District Court with a real likelihood of a full time goal sentence.

Upon reading the brief of evidence, it became clear to our solicitors that the conduct of our client did not amount to aggravated break and enter but rather other lesser offences.

Our solicitors entered into negotiations with the DPP and proposed that our client plead guilty to a steal from person and intimidate on the basis that the charge of aggravated break and enter is withdrawn and the matter is finalized in the local court. The DPP agreed to our proposal.

Our client was sentenced at the Parramatta Local court . The court was considering a community service order but our solicitor successfully argued that that the offence fell towards the lower end of seriousness and that there were many factors in mitigation.

The court agreed with our solicitors submissions and our client was placed on a 12 months good behavior bond pursuant to s. 9 of the CSP Act.

Our negotiations to have the serious charge withdrawn and the matter remain in the local court meant the possibility of goal was significantly reduced.

Our client was charged with two counts of break and enter of a Westfield shopping complex with intention to commit serious indictable offence relating to a jewellery and phone shop located at a Westfield’s shopping complex.

The alleged incident was captured on CCTV. The CCTV footage showed the accused walking within the shopping complex and looking into the windows of the jewelry and phone shop, but did not show how the accused entered the shopping complex.

On the morning of the hearing, Joseph of our office put it to the police prosecutors that there was no evidence beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused did ‘break’ into the shopping complex and that the court could not possibly convict our client of the charges.

The prosecutors shared the same view and the matter did not proceed to a hearing. The charges were formally withdrawn.