Case No. 2007-04219-A8

37. This may be a paradigm example of the way in which a court should not approach a case. In his basis of plea Rolls said: 4. The gun, silencer and ammunition did not belong to Rolls. They had been supplied to him the night before the police found them. He was storing them. The Crown responded in a Response to Basis of Plea as follows: "The prosecution cannot say when Rolls received the gun and silencer. However, if he had been given the items the night before it is a curious aspect of the case that his DNA was found on the gun and his fingerprint on the silencer, indicating that he had handled both." 38. That was the position when the Crown opened the facts before Judge Richard Haworth on 11 July 2007. They made it clear that one of the seriously aggravating features of this case was that both Hogg and Rolls were protecting their well-run cocaine operation, and the profits they no doubt derived from it, with loaded firearms. Later in the opening the Crown turned to the basis of plea. It was made clear that they did not accept the position put forward by Rolls. In respect of the pistol, silencer and ammunition found at Rolls' premises, the Crown made it clear that, even if the items had been obtained the previous night, the finding of Rolls' DNA and fingerprints showed that he had handled both. The Crown made it clear that they did not accept that they had been received just for storage. They were not in a bag indicating that they might be picked up. They were all together on a shelf in clear view. 39. Following that submission, the judge asked the Crown about paragraph 4 of the basis of plea. He said: ".... one can speculate about it but I do not think it can really be