Ali Bajwa QC and Christian Wasunna, members of the Garden Court Chambers Criminal Defence Team, were instructed by Sinead Zaman of Powell Spencer Solicitors.
Ali Bajwa QC and Christian Wasunna represented Rikki Constable, at the relevant time a 27-year old man, in a five-defendant murder trial at Woolwich Crown Court.
The case concerned the fatal shooting in Hoddesdon on 4 December 2018 of a man named Esam Ayad, who was said to be in a feud with another group. The prosecution alleged that Mr Constable was a member of the masked group that attended the Hoddesdon address and shot Mr Ayad in the face with a shotgun before being sped away in a waiting vehicle.
Mr Constable denied being present at the scene of the murder. The case against him turned on complex telephone evidence, scientific evidence of gunshot residue particles recovered from his motor vehicle and his association with the main defendant on the day in question, including driving that defendant and another co-defendant to his own home almost immediately after the shooting took place.
Following a trial that lasted over 3 months, the jury convicted three other defendants of murder but Mr Constable was cleared of all charges, including murder, manslaughter and assisting an offender.
