THE prosecution case against a Buckley woman accused of being in control of a dangerous dog which injured a child has been discontinued.

Madison Jenkins, 22, of Briar Road, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday morning, when her defending barrister Simon Killeen made an application to the court to stay a prosecution against her.

She had been charged with being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog which caused injury in Buckley on July 18, 2021.

The court heard Jenkins had initially appeared alongside co-defendant Cameron Edwards aged 24 and of Powell Road in Buckley.

Both defendants initially pleaded not guilty, but Jenkins had been told by the prosecution that should her co-defendant plead guilty, she would have no evidence offered and the case against her would be discontinued.

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And whilst Cameron Edwards made an indication that he intended to plead guilty, he was not able to attend a number of hearings due to his deteriorating mental health and a hospital admission.

He died in April this year following a "high speed motorcycle collision" before having entered the plea.

The court heard following that event, the prosecution then decided to prosecute Jenkins after all, given no formal guilty plea had been entered by her co-defendant prior to his death.

That, Mr Killeen said, amounted to an abuse of process by the prosecution - after having given his client the understanding she wouldn't be prosecuted.

Setting out the "backdrop of a tragic case," he told the court that the dog in question was owned by Cameron Edwards and that he had day-to-day control of the animal.

He had been the one to set up an area enclosed by palates outside his premises where the dogs were allowed into.

Mr Killeen said his client didn't own or train the dogs, and her involvement in the incident had been to allow the dogs out when asked to by the defendant.

He explained the death of the co-defendant was "obviously completely out of [Jenkins'] control" and couldn't be considered to be a "catalyst" in the prosecution changing its approach.

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Mr Killeen suggested the Crown Prosecution Service had decided it 'wanted someone' for the offence, turning its attention to the only living defendant after the death of Edwards.

He called on Judge Niclas Parry to use his discretion when looking at the facts of the case, and that for the prosecution to continue would be an "affront to justice."

Given the condition that the co-defendant would have to first plead guilty, prosecuting counsel Richard Edwards said Jenkins hadn't been given "an unequivocal assurance" that she wouldn't be prosecuted.

He continued: "The evidential test will have been considered and has been passed.

"And due to the nature of this incident, where [a young child] has been injured, the public interest test has been passed.

"The tests have been applied by the reviewing lawyer and it's been decided that the case should proceed."

Judge Parry told the court: "I'm asked to consider staying proceedings of being in charge of a dog causing injury whilst dangerously out of control - on a basis of an abuse of process.

"The victim in this case is a young [child], attacked by one of the two dogs involved in this case resulting in a significant injury."

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The Leader:

Judge Parry reflected the defendant's "exceptionally limited involvement" with the animals and summarised it was the defence case that the conduct of the Crown Prosecution Service amounted to an "oppressive reneging on a promise and an abuse of power, bringing justice into disrepute."

He concluded an assurance had been given to Jenkins that she wouldn't be prosecuted if her co-defendant admitted his guilt, which he'd made clear he intended to do, leading to an expectation of such an outcome on her part.

"I find that to allow the prosecution to continue would offend the court's sense of justice and would bring the administration of justice into disrepute," he announced.

"The application is granted and a formal verdict of not guilty should be entered in relation to Miss Madison Jenkins."