Teenager found guilty of unlawfully stabbing 17-year-old in neck in Walsall town centre

Maariya Arif, aged 19, was sentenced to 15 months in a Young Offenders Institution after majority verdicts were returned.

Jurors at Wolverhampton Crown Court found her guilty of unlawfully wounding the victim by a majority verdict of 10-2.

Arif was found guilty of having an article with a blade or point by a majority of 10-2. Jurors found her not guilty of wounding with intent.

The defendant, then 18, had encountered the other teenager outside Co-op in Walsall town centre on August 3 last year, the court had been told.

The two women were engaged in a brawl at 4.15pm and a knife was pulled which led to the 17-year-old, now 18, suffering a deep wound in the back of her neck, a court was told.

She was treated at Walsall Manor Hospital for her injuries along with superficial wounds to her head and an injury to her finger, jurors heard.

Mr David Oshcroft, prosecuting, claimed Arif had a knife in her possession and had "deliberately" attacked the other woman as "revenge" for a previous incident and intended to do her harm.

Mr Rag Chand, defending Arif, said the victim had the knife and the defendant was acting in self-defence, with the victim suffering the wounds due to Arif defending herself, a judge heard.

Arif, of Friary Close in Walsall, was sentenced to 15 months in a Young Offenders Institution for unlawful wounding after the sentence was reduced from 18 months, having taken into account mitigating and aggravating factors.

She was sentenced to six months for possession of a knife which will run concurrently. The 19-year-old will be subject to a restraining order, preventing her from interacting with the victim, with a forfeiture and destruction order made in regards to the knife.

Judge Jonathan Salmon, sentencing, said: "The jury have convicted you of being in possession of a knife in a public place. You had chosen to go about the streets carrying a knife.

"You came into what I accept is a chance encounter, with a lady who – in colloquial terms – 'had history with'. The jury accept you did not intent to do serious harm, but their verdict means your violence was unlawful. It was no accident and you were not acting in lawful self-defence.

"Fortunately, the injuries have healed. You will appreciate that a wound to the neck of that nature, had it been an inch or two either side, could have led to a different charge had she died through the artery being broken."

The time Arif has served on remand may mean she will be eligible for immediate release, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.