Teenager denies involvement in death of schoolboy who was shot and stabbed

A 14-year-old boy accused of firing two shots to murder teenager Keon Lincoln has denied any involvement in the killing.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court have heard that five teenagers, aged between 14 and 18 and from Birmingham and Walsall, are accused of murdering 15-year-old Keon Lincoln on January 21.

The 14-year-old accused, from Birmingham; a 16-year-old from Walsall; Kieron Donaldson, 18, of Aston Lane, Perry Barr; Tahjgeem Breakenridge, 18, of Oldfield Road, Balsall Heath; and Michael Ugochukwu, 18, of Twyning Road, Edgbaston, all deny murder.

During his evidence, he was shown an image of a white Ford S-Max car used by the attackers.

Asked if he had ever got into the vehicle he replied: “No.”

He was asked if he ever went to the scene in Linwood Road, and replied: “No, that’s not me.”

The jury was then shown the car leaving Linwood Road, and again the youth denied being in the people carrier.

“I heard he got stabbed,” he said.

The teenager was arrested in connection with the attack a week later, on January 28.

Jurors heard that in the first of four police interviews, he answered the questions put to him by detectives.

Asked why he gave “no comment” answers in his other interviews, he replied: “Because I didn’t want to get myself or anybody else in trouble.”

In his first interview, he told officers he had spent the whole day at an address in the city.

“I told the police that because I didn’t want to get myself in trouble, because I knew I was at Deykin Avenue on January 21.

“The rumour on the streets was that the people in Deykin Avenue had attacked Keon Lincoln, so I didn’t want to get myself in trouble.”

He also said that when he told police his mobile phone’s sim card was damaged, it was “a lie as well”.

“I decided to bin the phone so the police couldn’t see I was at Deykin Avenue. So I don’t get accused of anything I hadn’t done.”

Under cross-examination by Michael Burrows QC, for the Crown, the youth was asked why he refused to name a “friend” he had contacted to “pick up some trainers” from, hours before Keon was attacked.

The teenager replied: “I’m scared for my family, I’m scared for myself.”

“As I said, I’m scared,” replied the youth.

When he later declined to name other people he associated with that day, he told the court: “You don’t know these people.”

He was later asked “did you fire the gun?”, and replied: “No, I didn’t.”

Opening the case for the Crown at the start of the trial, Mr Burrows told jurors the incident was caught on CCTV, showing five attackers.

He said: “The CCTV shows one of the individuals had a gun and shot at Keon Lincoln twice.

“One of the shots hit Keon Lincoln in the stomach and caused fatal injuries.

“The prosecution say the gunman was… and is 14 years old.”

Keon was also stabbed repeatedly by other assailants, suffering eight knife wounds including an injury to a major artery in a “short and brutal” attack, and died in hospital two hours later.

As well as the murder charge, the 14-year-old defendant denies possessing a handgun with intent to endanger life.

Breakenridge, Ugochukwu and the 16-year-old, who cannot be named because of a court order, also deny unlawful possession of a knife.

The trial continues.