WILLIAM CARLIN v. HER MAJESTY'S ADVOCATE

[1] This is the application of William Carlin for an extension of time to lodge grounds of appeal and also, we infer, to lodge a late intimation of intention to appeal.

[3] The circumstances of the robbery were, put shortly, that the applicant had approached a courier from a Group 4 Securicor van as he was carrying a box of cash to a cash machine to replenish it, presented a handgun at his face and demanded that he hand over the money, which he did. The box contained �19,000. The two eye witnesses who gave evidence were the security courier and a woman who was en route to use the cash machine when the robbery took place. She had attacked the applicant with her handbag.

[4] It appears that the Crown had sought to invoke the Moorov doctrine in relation to the two sets of charges. Equally, however, it seems clear that, given that there were two eye witnesses to the charges of which the applicant was convicted who had identified him, the Crown did not need Moorov to be applied to secure a conviction on those charges.

[5] At the time of the offence the applicant was subject to the unexpired portion of an 8 year sentence which had been imposed at Newcastle Crown Court on 12 September 2001 in respect of a directly analogous offence. The information before the trial judge was that that sentence was due to expire on 10 November 2008. He was sentenced for these offences for a total of 8 years imprisonment, to run from 19 September 2007.

[9] Matters were, however, brought to a halt by the applicant himself in August 2012 when he instructed his agents that, since he was due for release, he had decided to "just leave matters" regarding the proposed appeal. Not surprisingly his agents then closed their file. The applicant is said to have then committed another offence and was returned to custody.