'Well up for it' - Teen found guilty of knifing boy, 16, in broad daylight after CCTV showed him 'bouncing' over for fight
A teenage boy has been found guilty of stabbing a 16-year-old in broad daylight in a busy town centre.
The attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, knifed the other boy in the back, abdomen and hand in Bradford Street, Shifnal, leaving him covered in blood and with a severed tendon.
In a two-day trial at Telford Magistrates Court, the attacker - having pleaded not guilty to charges of section 18 wounding with intent and possession of a blade in public - claimed he was ordered to stab the other boy by a county lines drug dealer who was exploiting him.
He told the court he was "terrified", and hoped simply brandishing the knife would scare the other boy away.
However CCTV footage of the attacker getting out of a car and "bouncing" across the road to engage with the victim showed he was "well up for it", according to prosecutor Tim Talbot-Webb.
The boy denied that assertion, but District Judge Kevin Grego found him guilty of both charges.
The youth, who is 16 now but was 15 when he committed the offences, took to the witness box. His electronic ankle tag was on show and his legs shaked nervously as he answered questions.
"I've never been to court before," he said. "That's why I'm nervous." During a lull in proceedings, his dad said the boy's favourite food was "nuggets". His mum was also in court to witness the case unfold.
On May 18 last year - the day of the stabbing - the youth said he and one of his friends were picked up by the dealer and his on/off girlfriend to do drug drop-offs in Telford and Bridgnorth.
"He said he had a job for me, but there was no mention of what it was," said the youth.
Later on, they arrived in Shifnal, where the dealer got out at the Co-op to pick up a meal deal, before they went to Bradford Street.