Mark
Roochove
Mark
Roochove
Mark has extensive experience of both prosecuting and defending in serious cases across the spectrum of offences, with principal emphasis was upon serious/organised violence (including homicide), serious sexual offences (including matters involving historical accusations), fraud, serious organised crime and large-scale drug matters.
Mark has been on the CPS General Crime Panel (Grade 3) and the RASSO Panel since 2007.
Notable cases
Murder
R v S & others - junior counsel in complex drug related murder (the defendant S was found not guilty)
R v JP - junior counsel in case of drunk defendant killing his best friend
R v E - junior counsel in complex mob attack where the deceased was stabbed, punched and kicked leading to complicated issues concerning joint enterprise
R v W - junior counsel in case of wife soliciting to commit the murder of her husband, the ‘hitman’ being an undercover police officer
R v A - junior counsel in case of teenage defendant charged with murder following an altercation in Thetford High Street (the defendant was found not guilty)
Lesser serious violence
R v Wu & Wong – leading junior counsel for Wong in case alleging the administering of a noxious substance so as to endanger life in relation to Chinese Herbal Medicine (the defendant Wong was acquitted at half time)
R v P & others – leading junior counsel in case involving multiple defendants involving serious violence and complex issues regarding identification, causation and bad character evidence
R v S – leading junior counsel in attempted murder case where defendant went on rampage using a crossbow
R v R – defended as junior alone in an attempted murder case where the defendant doused his former partner in petrol to set her alight. Following trial, he was found guilty of lessor offences
Fraud & Financial Crime
R v T & others – leading junior counsel in 10-handed six-month benefit fraud where the defendants claimed more than £250,000 by ‘inventing’ disabled children and hijacking the identities of people to make fraudulent claims. The Crown were represented by Sir Derek Spencer KC and three junior counsel (despite a matrix of evidence the defendant T was acquitted at half time)
R v P & others – leading junior counsel in 14-handed four-month money laundering case defending a senior fire officer. The Crown and each co-defendant were represented by Silk and junior counsel (the defendant P was acquitted at half time)
Drugs, Gangs & Organised Crime Groups
R v F & others (Operation Padstow) – junior counsel in multi-handed Class A drugs conspiracy involving issues surrounding extensive covert surveillance and cell site analysis
R v D & others – county lines OCG based in London and operating throughout East Anglia involving extensive phone and cell-site data and covert surveillance
R v L & others – 12-handed conspiracy to commit over 200 burglaries with a value in excess of £2m. In sentencing, the trial judge remarked that ‘I don’t think I’ve ever come across as serious a conspiracy to burgle in terms of the sheer amounts stolen, the number of properties broken into and most importantly the lives left devastated by people having their homes invaded and damaged by you’
Serious Sexual Offences
R v G – instructed on behalf of the prosecution in relation to historic sexual offences occurring between 1974 and 2001, involving multiple complainants with one as young as 11 years old
R v R – instructed on behalf of the prosecution in relation to historic sexual offences. The defendant was jailed for life in 1999 after he was convicted for his part in a vice ring involving boys as young as nine. He was subsequently investigated for a further 20 offences committed against eight boys between 1970 and 1994, when one of his original victims himself committed sexual offences and, following attendance on a sex offenders programme, contacted the police to make further disclosure concerning the defendant. Investigations began and a variety of other complainants came forward or were contacted
Bad Character
Edwards and Rowlands [2005] EWCA Crim 3244
