Paul Valder was recently instructed to prosecute the trial of Sandy Hunter, a glamour model, at Maidstone Crown Court. During her trial and at the start of the prosecution case, she admitted two charges of intentionally assisting the commission of an offence involving Mr Tapper possessing a gun and ammunition. She admitted the offences after the jury heard a series of WhatsApp messages between her and ex-boyfriend Spencer Tapper. Ms Hunter has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years.
Ms Hunter hid the prohibited Croatian self-loading pistol in her bedroom on behalf of her convicted criminal ex-boyfriend. A court heard the 9mm Parabellum was 'on open display' in a holdall inside the door-less wardrobe full of shoeboxes in Hunter's bedroom. The gun magazine contained 15 rounds of ammunition. A further 26 loose cartridges were also found. The weapon, worth between £1,500 and £3,000 on the street, and corresponding cartridges were discovered inside a velvet bag during an armed police raid in 2016.
Arrests were made involving the three men, after a car containing a gun and ammunition was stopped on the M2 between Faversham and Sittingbourne in February last year.
Mr Tapper, admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearms certificate and was sentenced to 15 years'.
Mr Popo and Mr Chaitoo, both admitted possessing a prohibited firearm. Popo also admitted possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate. Mr Popo was jailed for six years and five months and Mr Chaitoo, for five years and five months.
The case was reported by the Daily Mail, and the full article can be viewed here and the KentOnline and can be viewed here.
Paul is an experienced barrister who prosecutes and defends crime at all levels. He is a CPS level 4 appointed advocate, and appears in cases that demand his level of experience and expertise. Paul has particular experience in MTIC cases, complex frauds and white-collar crime work. As a consequence, he is regularly instructed in complex confiscation post-conviction.
