Convictions for multiple attempted murders following violent rampage at Central Middlesex Hospital

On 21 June 2023, a maintenance worker at Central Middlesex Hospital, named Matteo Bottarelli, carried out a spree of unprovoked and savage attacks against his colleagues.

The violence began when Bottarelli armed himself with a mattock – a tool similar to a large pickaxe. He was seen on CCTV approaching his first victim from behind, with the mattock raised above his head, ready to strike. Fortunately, the victim turned around, causing Bottarelli to pause before running off to the staff canteen.

On arriving at the canteen Bottarelli put the mattock down and approached his second victim from behind. He pulled the victim’s head back and cut his throat with a surgical scalpel.

Bottarelli then went up to an office on the first floor of the hospital, where he found his line manager. He struck him to the skull at least twice with the mattock, causing multiple skull fractures and resulting in the herniation of the brain through the fracture site.

At his trial Bottarelli was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. Sentencing was adjourned until 30 April 2024.

Thom Dyke, led by Sean Larkin KC of QEB Hollis Whiteman, acted on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Press Coverage: Daily Mail, BBC News, Independent, and The Guardian.

Firearms and drugs conspirators sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment

Members of a sophisticated organised criminal gang, responsible for the large-scale supply of crack cocaine and heroin in North London whilst armed with a range of lethal firearms, have been given sentences totally 35 years’ imprisonment.

The gang was prosecuted by Thom Dyke, leading Laura Hibberd, in a four-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.

The ringleader of the gang received a sentence of nearly fifteen years’ imprisonment, whilst two of his trusted lieutenants received sentences of nine years. A fourth member was sentenced to just over three years for his involvement.

Thom gives advocacy training at the International Criminal Court

Thom was recently invited to deliver advocacy training to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) in The Hague, together with other trainers from Inner Temple. The training included talks on best practice for conducting both examination-in-chief and cross-examination before international criminal tribunals.

In addition to being an advocacy trainer with the Inner Temple, Thom is a member of both the International Criminal Court’s List of Counsel and the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the ‘Rule 43’ List).

Success in High Court appeal

SP was charged with multiple counts of rape and assault against the complainant. He had previously been accused by two other complainants of similar sexual and violent offences and had gone on the run from police in 2021 for nearly four months.

Despite the significant danger posed by SP, he was granted bail by the Crown Court. Thom represented the Crown Prosecution Service in bringing a successful appeal to the High Court against the decision (CPS v SP [2023] EWHC 3239 (KB)).

In his judgment, Mr Justice Martin Spencer accepted Thom’s submissions as to the risk that SP would commit further offences and interfere with witnesses, were he to be granted bail.

The decision of the Crown Court was quashed, and SP was remanded into custody to await his trial.

Thom ranked in Chambers & Partners 2024 in criminal law

Thom has been ranked in the 2024 edition of Chambers & Partners for crime.

The 2023 edition described him as "a really hard-working, thorough and quite pugilistic prosecutor".

The 2022 edition noted that he is "a fair and effective prosecutor who gets on well with opponents and judges, and makes the extra effort to get the job done."

Thom ranked in The Legal 500 for police law

Thom is pleased to be ranked as a ‘rising star’ in the field of police law in the 2024 edition of The Legal 500:

“Thom is a delight to work with. He is always extremely knowledgeable and is an excellent advocate.”

Thom prosecutes “truly dangerous” knifepoint rapist

Thom and Claire Harden-Frost successfully prosecuted a 37-year-old man for a prolonged and traumatic attack.

Sentencing Karan Pullock to an extended sentence of 18 years, HHJ Aaronberg KC said:

“You armed yourself with a kitchen knife, put a chest of drawers in your own bath and then climbed on top of it to gain access to your loft. Then, using a key to a fire door, you passed into [her] loft and then dropped through the hatch into her flat. She had a dog in her flat and you kicked the dog, which had cuts to the front of its face. Having locked the dog in her cage, you searched the flat, looking for money. You took a knife from [her] kitchen and put it in her wardrobe…you found a roll of duct tape. You fixed a blanket over a window, I infer to prevent anyone from seeing into the premises. Then, you waited for [her] to return.”

“You then held the broken knife to her throat and told her to stop screaming, saying that, if she did not, you would kill her…during the rest of your dealings with her, which continued for more than two hours, you repeatedly threatened that you would kill her.”

“You told her to get onto the bed. You then cut her top and bra off using either a pair of scissors or a knife. You cut the drawstring of her jeans and took them off. You put her on her back and took her knickers off. You then took all your own clothes off and tried to rape her.”

“You continued trying to rape her for about ten minutes, telling her to keep still. While you were doing this, she was begging you to stop. You responded by saying that you had worse things than a knife. You said that you had acid and that, if she wanted to see what acid would do, you would throw it on her dog.”

The case received widespread media coverage:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12106517/Man-broke-womans-home-attic-attempted-rape-jailed-12-years.html

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/karan-pullock-jailed-rape-woman-home-hackney-london-met-police-crime-b1082515.html

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/22422661/sex-attacker-broke-woman-home-attic/

Thom interviewed by the BBC on proposals to sack rogue police officers

Thom was interviewed by the BBC for Radio 4’s World in Action, on the request by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for increased powers to sack rogue police officers.

The interview can be heard here (starting at 10.53).

Thom is regularly instructed to advise and represent police forces in cases of police misconduct, including appeals to the PAT and judicial review, as well as all other areas of police law. For more details, click here.

Thom to attend Guantánamo Bay as Military Commission Observer for 9/11 trials

In May 2023, Thom will be flying to Guantánamo Bay as a Military Commission Observer for the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, "the principal architect" of the 9/11 attacks, who has been detained at Guantánamo since 2006.

Thom is attending the trial on behalf of the Association of Defence Counsel practising before the International Courts and Tribunals (ADC-ICT), with the assistance of the US Department of Defence, as part of an oversight programme to ensure the trial is held in compliance with US and international human rights law.

Thom ranked in Chambers UK Bar 2023

Thom is delighted to once again be ranked in Chambers UK Bar 2023 directory for Crime, having gone up a band from 2022.

"A really hard-working, thorough and quite pugilistic prosecutor."

In the 2022 edition he was described as "a fair and effective prosecutor who gets on well with opponents and judges, and makes the extra effort to get the job done".

Thom elected Barrister Governing Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

Thom was elected a Barrister Governing Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Benchers are senior members of the Inn responsible for the Inn’s governance and education and training activities.

https://www.innertemple.org.uk/news/new-masters-of-the-bench-2022/

Thom secures not guilty verdict in attempted murder

In September 2021, police attended a hotel in Surbiton following reports of an incident.  The complainant told officers her partner had beaten her and strangled her, telling her “now is your time to die”. She told police he licked the blood from her face and that his behaviour was like that of a serial killer. As a result of her extensive maxillofacial injuries she was taken to Kingston Hospital for treatment.

Thom acted on behalf of the defendant, who was arrested and charged with attempted murder. After a five-day trial at Kingston Crown Court, during which the complainant was cross-examined at length to highlight the inconsistencies in her account, the defendant was found not guilty of attempted murder.  He received a sentence of six years’ imprisonment for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Thom secures convictions in first ever modern slavery fraud case

After a three-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Thom Dyke, led by Claire Harden-Frost, have secured convictions in the first ever prosecution brought under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to involve trafficking victims for the purposes of carrying out fraud.

Nearly thirty vulnerable young girls were physically and sexually exploited by a gang led by Isaiah Olugosi. The fraud targeted retailers including Boots and Tesco and netted the gang over half a million pounds, which was spent on luxury items and holidays.

Sentencing for Isaiah Olugosi, Holly Chapman, Baran Karamagara and Eva Dambrauskaite was adjourned until April.

Thom and Claire were instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit.

Media Coverage

The Independent - Dozens of teenage girls trafficked and exploited in first ever modern slavery fraud case

The Times - ‘Fagin’ used girls for county lines shoplifting spree

Daily Mail - Modern-day Fagin gang are jailed for trafficking DOZENS of young girls around the country for £500,000 county lines shoplifting spree

Thom invited to sign open letter urging UN to open query into Iran's 1988 killings

Thom was invited to sign an important open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran.

The letter was co-signed by some 460 people, including prominent former U.N. judges and investigators, a former president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Sang-Hyun Song, and Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador for global criminal justice.

The letter calls on U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet to investigate the 1988 "massacre" of political prisoners in Iran, including the alleged role of its current president, Ebrahim Raisi, at that time.

For more detail, please see press coverage from Reuters. The full text of the letter is available here, together with profiles of all the signatories.

Thom appointed to Level 4 of the CPS Advocate Panel

Thom has been appointed to Level 4 of the CPS Advocate Panel.  Level 4 is the highest level of appointment for a barrister (non-QC) on the Advocate Panel Scheme. Level 4 prosecution advocates must demonstrate a consistently high quality of work and are instructed in serious, complex, and sensitive cases.

Thom is also a member of both the CPS Serious Crime specialist panel, and the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (“RASSO”) panel. He accepts instructions to prosecute and defend.

Thom Dyke successfully prosecutes right-wing extremist who threatened politicians with “a white tsunami of hate and revenge”

Thom Dyke has successfully prosecuted a right-wing extremist who threatened politicians with “a white tsunami of hate and revenge”.

During 2019, Mr Thomas Thomas engaged in a sustained campaign of virulently racist, anti-Semitic, and violent abuse, in which he targeted a group of high-profile politicians with offensive and threatening emails.  These included the former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hilary Benn MP, and the then-Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP, as well as a journalist for The Guardian.

The jury heard that Mr Thomas was an active member of the neo-Nazi website Stormfront.  His emails threatened that “only the threat and implementation of violent revolt can change things for ordinary people”.  Mr Thomas went on to make reference to the terrorist attacks in New Zealand, saying that “a white tsunami of hate and revenge is on its way to Europe’s sacred shores…when it hits its gonna make Christchurch 2019 look like a chimps tea party”.

Mr Thomas was convicted by a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court of five counts of sending electronic communications with intent to cause anxiety or distress.  Sentencing was adjourned until 17 January 2022.

Thom ranked in Chambers UK Bar 2022

Thom is delighted to be ranked in Chambers UK Bar 2022 directory for Crime.

He is described as "a fair and effective prosecutor who gets on well with opponents and judges, and makes the extra effort to get the job done".

Thom is running the Chicago Marathon 2022 in support of Mind

If you'd asked me a few years ago for the least likely things I'd find myself doing, "training for a marathon" would easily have made it into the top ten.  Well, it's been a strange few years for all of us, and in March I received an email to tell me I've got a place confirmed to run the Chicago Marathon 2022...

I decided to sign up to travel 4,000 miles around the world in order to run what seems like a *ridiculous* distance because I want to support the work of the mental health charity, Mind (www.mind.org.uk). Mind does absolutely incredible work, both providing support to those who need it, and campaigning for better provision of mental health services.

Most of you probably won't know this, but I've suffered with mental health issues for most of my adult life. Sometimes it's been manageable, but there have been times when it hasn't, and without the support offered by mental health services, I probably wouldn't be here today. I owe them an immense debt of gratitude, and I'm hoping to raise money as a way of repaying some of that debt and helping them continue their life-saving work.

If you’re able to donate, then please visit my JustGiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thomdyke

If you don't have any spare cash, but still want to support my endeavour, then please consider donating blood (www.blood.co.uk/). It won't cost you anything more than an hour or so of your time and it's an amazing way to help out. I started donating four years ago in order to get over a phobia of needles, so if I can do it, anyone can.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Thom

Thom secures not guilty verdict in submachine gun case

In November 2017, armed police searched an address in Enfield where they found a Skorpion submachine gun together with a large quantity of ammunition.  Forensic examination of the submachine gun produced a DNA profile which did not match anyone on the National DNA database.

In June 2019 BG was arrested by police for an unrelated matter, and when his DNA sample was taken it matched the profile taken from the submachine gun.  BG was charged with possession of the submachine gun on the basis of the DNA evidence alone.  He pleaded not guilty and was due to stand trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in July 2020.

Thom drafted detailed written submissions regarding the sufficiency of the DNA evidence and formally requested that the prosecution’s forensic expert carry out a further examination of the case.  As a result of Thom’s submissions, the Crown Prosecution Service took the decision to drop the case against BG and a not guilty verdict was formally returned at a hearing held over Skype on 30 June 2020.

This case underlines the importance for defendants charged with serious offences to always make a robust challenge to any prosecution expert evidence.  Thom is regularly instructed in all manner of serious criminal cases, including those involving firearms offences.

15-year sentence for armed drug dealer

Thom Dyke successfully obtained convictions at the trial of a drug dealer caught with 15 kilograms of cannabis and two loaded firearms, resulting in a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

On 24 July 2019, armed police executed a warrant at a block of flats in Acton.  They found Maurio Myftaraj at the door of a flat, attempting to leave the property.  Inside the flat they found 15 kilograms of cannabis in sealed vacuum bags, with a street value of nearly £160,000.  £9,000 in cash was found in a nearby room, together with 12 rounds of ammunition.  When police searched the loft, they found two loaded firearms – a Colt revolver and a Yugoslavian M57 self-loading pistol, fitted with a laser sight, together with more ammunition.

After a trial at Wood Green Crown Court, the jury convicted Myftaraj of possession of the firearms with intent to endanger life, possession of the cannabis with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property.

Myftaraj was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by HH Judge David Aaronberg QC at Wood Green Crown Court which was conducted over Skype due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.  Passing sentence he said “the evidence is clear that this was a commercial drug dealing enterprise selling multi-kilo amounts to other drug dealers, with an expectation of a substantial financial gain…each of the firearms was a lethal weapon, loaded ready for use”.

Media coverage of the case can be found here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mauricio-myftaraj-deported-albanian-gangster-who-sneaked-back-into-uk-caught-with-two-loaded-guns-and-70-000-of-cannabis-pgdwv7gs0