Five men and a teenager have been jailed after police were “lured” to a pub fire and shot at in Birmingham during riots. The men were given sentences ranging from 18 to 30 years at Birmingham Crown Court while a 17-year-old was jailed for 12 years.
Twelve shots were fired at police after a petrol bomb attack on the Bartons Arms in Aston.The West Midlands force helicopter was also shot at.The five men and teenager were jailed for between 12 and 30 years.
Judge William Davis QC said the aim of the disorder was to draw police to the pub in order to attack them. “Members of the group attacked the building. They smashed windows, they went inside and ransacked the premises. They threw chairs and tables out on to the pavement. Other members of the group stayed on the pavement outside the building. Some threw missiles, bottles and the like, at a passing police car. Others lit petrol bombs that had been brought to the scene.”

Jurors in the six-week trial were shown CCTV footage of a gunman firing at the police helicopter as it tracked suspects during disturbances in the early hours of 10 August.

FVS produced a report which lead to a guilty plea. It was reported by the newspapers as follows:
‘A man has been handed a life term after stabbing a gambler to death who had won £3,000 at a casino.
A Birmingham man was found guilty of murdering Shaspal Singh Bahra, 46, following a five-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
The murderer went to the Gala Casino on Hill Street in the city centre with the intention of identifying a victim who had won money last May.
Mr Bahra cashed in his £3,000 winnings and left the casino. He was then followed and fatally stabbed with a knife. Later that night he called friends asking if they wanted to party.
When one declined as he was short of money the murderer told him ‘not to worry’, saying to another friend that ‘the drinks are on me’.
Judge Melbourne Inman QC handed him a life sentence and ordered him to serve a minimum of 30 years in prison, the Crown Prosecution Service said.’

Shahriar Firouzian, 52, had been charged with causing the death of Mingwei Tan by careless driving. However, Blackfriars Crown Court heard there was no realistic prospect of a conviction, and a verdict of not guilty was formally entered by the judge. Miss Tan was hit by a bus in Hampstead, north London, on 30 September 2010. The bus driver accused of causing the death of a medical student walked free from court after the case against him was withdrawn. In June 2013 at Blackfriers Crown Court FVS clearly showed a number of inconsistencies in the police evidence. The solicitors for Mr Firouzian stated:
“I thought the FVS representative one of the best experts I have recently seen in the witness box and I have worked in Law since 1982. He was clear, deliberate and explained all scientific ideas simply. His explanation of jargon was lucid. He took the jury with him and everyone was nodding throughout his explanations. He simply knows his subject and its limitations.”

Vitalija Baliutaviciene vanished while on her way to work on Friday 12 August 2011. A caring and hard-working mother, 28-year-old Vitalija moved to Peterborough from Lithuania in May 2010. She had endured years of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Rimas Venclovas, who was handed a life sentence for her murder in November 2012. The unprecedented case relied on the damning secrets contained in Venclovas’s sat nav. Venclovas is seeking leave to appeal his conviction on the basis prosecutors could not be certain which country she died in. It has always been the prosecution case that Vitalija was killed within 50 minutes of the abduction taking place.

On 30 April 2013 Crimewatch featured the story about the investigation into the abduction and murder of Vitalija Baliutaviciene. FVS provided photogrammetry services and evidence at the Old Bailey during the trial:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018ctdk

FVS were pleased to provide an interview which was aired on 29 April 2013 in the evening supplement to The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/10025889/Michael-Jackson-the-difficulty-of-disproving-impersonator-theories.html

A new brochure was added today (6 February) highlighting our services and personnel strengths. It is 6Mb in total so may take a short while but it is high quality and well worth the wait.

Did you know? Our sound engineer Nigel is a man of many talents. As well as being an excellent forensic engineer he was also sound engineer for many bands before he worked for FVS…..