R v Leroy Jethro Gibbs-Higgins (aka Terry Waymark)
[2024] EWCA Crim 791
R v Mubarak Abdi Jibril
4 August 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 1050
Court of Appeal
A man was convicted of stabbing someone and setting fire to their flat. He claimed his lawyer didn't let him tell the court that someone else did it. The judge said even if that was true, there was still enough evidence to convict him, so the conviction stands.
Key Facts
- •Mubarak Abdi Jibril (applicant) was convicted of wounding with intent and arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered.
- •The convictions stemmed from an incident where Sukhwinder Sukhwinder was found wounded and his flat was on fire.
- •Another man, Arnold Matsa, was found asleep in the flat, unaware of the fire.
- •Matsa gave a statement implicating the applicant ('Smoky'), who had argued with Sukhwinder and threatened to burn the flat.
- •CCTV footage showed a man carrying a red blanket, and the applicant was found asleep in a car with a red item.
- •The applicant's defense was that he was with friends, and Max, not him, had stabbed Sukhwinder.
- •The applicant's new grounds of appeal center on his previous solicitor's conduct, alleging suppression of evidence implicating Max.
Legal Principles
Test for unsafe convictions
Criminal Appeal
Admission of bad character evidence
Sections 101(1)(g) and 106 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
Outcomes
Leave to amend the Notice of Appeal refused.
The new grounds do not arguably affect the safety of the convictions. The applicant's former solicitor's actions, even if negligent, did not render the convictions unsafe. The jury's disbelief of the applicant's testimony, even with the new evidence, supports the convictions.
Leave to appeal refused.
The proposed new grounds do not meet the test for unsafe convictions. The evidence against Max doesn't rebut the circumstantial evidence against the applicant.