Keon Lincoln: Four teenagers found guilty of murdering schoolboy

Jurors will return to court on Friday to decide fate of fifth defendant

Keon, whose mother says he was ‘fun-loving’ and ‘cheeky', was killed in January near his home in Handsworth, Birmingham (West Midlands Police via SWNS)

A 14-year-old gunman and three other teenagers aged between 16 and 18 have been found guilty of murdering schoolboy Keon Lincoln.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court are still considering a charge of murder against a fifth defendant, who is also 18, and will resume deliberations on Friday.

The 14-year-old, from Birmingham, who cannot be named because of his age, showed little emotion as he was unanimously convicted of killing 15-year-old Keon in January this year.

Another boy, aged 16, from Walsall, whose identity is also protected, was found guilty of murder after being caught on CCTV carrying a long-bladed knife moments after Keon was attacked near his home in Linwood Road, Handsworth.

The three remaining defendants – Tahjgeem Breakenridge, from Balsall Heath, Michael Ugochukwu, of Edgbaston, and Kieron Donaldson, from Perry Barr – are exempt from anonymity because they are all 18.

Breakenridge and Ugochukwu were also found guilty of murder on Thursday, following 15 hours and 50 minutes of deliberations.

A decision has not yet been made about Donaldson, who denies a charge of murder against him, with jurors set to return to court tomorrow. He is alleged to have “helped and supplied weapons” for the pre-planned attack.

In addition to murder, the 14-year-old was convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life while the 16-year-old, Breakenridge and Ugochukwu were all convicted of having an offensive weapon.

A five-week trial has been told Keon was stabbed eight times and suffered a fatal gunshot to his stomach – one of two shots fired in Linwood Road at about 3.35pm on 21 January.

Prosecutor Michael Burrows QC previously described the attack as “short and brutal”.

The 14-year-old gunman told jurors he was not at the murder scene but later admitted he had lied to police.

All four defendants convicted of murder were remanded in custody by trial judge Lord Justice William Davis, until a sentencing hearing on 29 November.

Additional reporting by PA