Three men found guilty of Walsall street murder where victim was armed with hunting knife and machete in case of 'pure violence'
Three men have been found guilty of the murder of a man in a Walsall street - and a fourth found guilty of his manslaughter.
Mohammed Khan, aged 22, sustained 30 injuries during a confrontation in Bloxwich Road near Leamore on March 17 last year when he was stabbed, slashed and kicked after approaching a group armed with a combat knife and machete.
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On Wednesday at Wolverhampton Crown Court the jury found Zain Raja, aged 22, of Harden Road, Harden; Asad Iftakhar, Hassan Iftakhar, both aged 33, of Bloxwich Road guilty of his murder in unanimous verdicts.
Amaan Khan, also aged 22 and also of Harden Road, was found guilty of Mr Khan's manslaughter by a majority verdict of 10-2.
The jury also unanimously found Asad Iftakhar guilty of possession of a blade.
Asad Iftakhar was acquitted of the murder charge. While the other three were acquitted of possessing blades.
Judge Michael Chambers said: "This case is particularly serious because it features aspects being seen on the streets of Walsall and other Black Country towns. It happened at 5.00 in the afternoon in broad daylight. People are settling disputes in a homicidal way which is why the police were not called."
"It was not one-sided. There was pure violence on both sides being settled on the streets."
He told Zain Raja, Asad Iftakhar and Hassan Iftakhar that due to being convicted of murder that they all faced terms of life imprisonment.
He told the jury: "You have been sitting for many weeks and the case has lasted many weeks during taking in Christmas, bereavements and snow Even though jury service can be inconvenient it is the bedrock of our criminal justice system.
"Thank you for your assistance. You have obviously considered it with great care."
The jury had deliberated for 15 hours and 13 minutes over a three-day period.
At the start of the trial prosecutor Jennifer Josephs KC described the violence as shocking and how it all happened with the space of nine seconds after the victim who was carrying a hunting knife with a serrated edge and a machete approached Zain Raja. They fought and wrestled before Raja's friends joined in with passing motorists and pedestrians watching on in horror at the scene.
All four were remanded in custody and will be sentenced at later date.
