Teen convicted of killing 15-year-old in Wolverhampton knife fight
Zane Smart was stabbed in a pre-arranged fight in Pendeford last year.
A teenager has been convicted of killing a schoolboy in a pre-arranged fight in Wolverhampton.
15-year-old Zane Smart was stabbed in the chest in the Pendeford area of the city in May last year.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how the defendant, then aged 16, stabbed Zane after becoming "irate" that his victim was riding a bike nearby, following a dispute several months earlier.
The teenager, now 17, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter by jurors. He;ll be sentenced in April.
Opening the Crown's case, prosecutor Harpreet Singh Sandhu KC said the youth had posted a message on social media alongside a picture of Zane, saying which postcode he was located in.
The prosecutor told the court: "On the 27th of May 2022 two teenagers arranged to meet alone so that they could fight.
"Each teenager armed himself with a knife before they met to fight. When they met, they used the knives they each had to attack the other.
"One of the teenagers was Zane Smart. He caused minor injuries to the other teenager... (who) used the knife he had to stab Zane Smart to the chest."
There had been "some tension" between Zane and the defendant, the court heard, before they took different routes from a car park near a chip shop to an area beside the Shropshire Union Canal.
Talking jurors through CCTV footage of the boys in the area of the chip shop, Mr Sandhu told the court: "It's the presence of Zane which made (the defendant) irate.
"The plan for (the defendant) and Zane to have a fight was now born.
"CCTV footage suggests that each of them took a slightly different route to the area of the canal."
The fight itself was not caught on CCTV cameras. The court was told a witness had described seeing Zane after the stabbing as he ran over a canal bridge towards his bike.
Jurors also heard that the defendant suffered superficial injuries to his left arm, forehead and left wrist, along with damage to his clothing which "corresponded" with his injuries.