Teenager who hid phones for Walsall murder gang is punished for his actions
A teenager who deliberately stashed away mobile phones belonging to members of the gang which murdered Bailey Atkinson has been sentenced for the crime.
The 19-year-old, who cannot be named as he was aged16 at the time of the offence, had previously admitted an offence of perverting the court of justice at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
The court heard the offence took place after the murder of Bailey Atkinson at the old Walsall market hill on January 28, 2023. The latest case relates to the defendant agreeing to hide the telephones of two gang members whom were among seven other teenagers subsequently jailed for life for the murder of Atkinson, who grew up in Coventry.
Miss Sophie Murray, prosecuting, said: "He packaged up the phones using tin foil and hid them in a nature reserve. The subsequent publicity around the case meant he knew, if he didn't immediately, that the phones were related to an alleged murder."
The phones were eventually recovered by police from Bentley Haye Nature Reserve in Willenhall and the fingerprints linked to the defendant."
The court heard the defendant had left school without qualifications and displayed a low level of intelligence.
But Judge Michael Chambers KC said that he didn't have to be very intelligent to know he was hiding telephones for a gang who had committed a serious crime.
He gave the defendant credit for his guilty plea and the fact he had been working for more than a year, with references provided by his employer.
The defendant, from Walsall, was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
He must also complete 150 hours community service and 25 rehabilitation requirement days.
