Our client had known the complainant for years, having been friends to one another on the streets. They would pick bottles for recycling together and spend time together drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.
One night, the police were called by a man who showed up at the complainant’s apartment to find him badly injured with cuts from a broken beer bottle. The complainant first refused to identify the assailant, but, apparently, changed his mind and accused our client. The police followed the victim to the hospital, closed off the crime scene, and attempted to find our client. In the meantime, the man who had found the victim and called the police broke into the crime scene and cleaned it up.
Our client was arrested at his home without incident and without any cuts or scratches on his body. At trial, our client did not testify. The jury deliberated for less than four hours.
RESULT: Our client was found not guilty on all counts.