Sunny-Jo Veasey told charges over lockdown party at Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, ‘have been dropped’
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Sunny-Jo Veasey, from Chapeltown, was furious when she was told she had been fined over an event reported to police at her previous home, in February 2021 – at a time that still no one had been punished for Downing Street socials.
She was due to appear before Sheffield magistrates yesterday, but was contacted to be told the case had been withdrawn. She said: “I’m over the moon about it! It’s such a weight lifted off my shoulders and I’m so happy I pushed through and fought it.
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“The prosecution have reviewed the case and decided to withdraw it due to a defective charge. The prosecutors sent me an email a couple of days ago stating this and the courts confirmed yesterday that the case would be withdrawn. They had tried to change the charge recently from a rave type event of more than 30 persons to a gathering of more than 30 persons.
“I requested the evidence as I was representing myself in court and reviewed this to find only 27 people were actually in the body camera footage including seven persons that lived in the property. All charges are now dropped and the case has been withdrawn. I have also received a full refund of all payments that were taken from me.”
An initial fine was imposed by Sheffield magistrates in 2021. Sunny-Jo only found out about the fine after her employer started deducting £320 a month from her wages, because all the letters from the court had been sent to her previous address on Ecclesall Road, where the fine related to. Earlier this year she attended Sheffield Magistrates’ Court for a ‘statutory declaration’ to the court, which will mean the conviction was void and the case was reconsidered, which wiped the initial fine.
Sunny-Jo, aged 28, discovered her initial fine last month when payments were taken direct from her wages for the first time, after her Ecclesall Road home was raided by police back in February 2021, while Sheffield was in tier four restrictions. She said she had struggled with her mental health during lockdown. The CPS has been contacted for comment.