A 17-year-old, previously acquitted of the murder of a man at the Weston Creek Skate Park, was on Tuesday sentenced for stabbing a different boy at the same brawl.
The teenager, who was 15 at the time, was initially charged with murder but was acquitted by a jury earlier this year.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 13 months in jail for another stabbing that took place during the 2020 brawl, to which he had pleaded guilty at the beginning of his trial.
The court heard the fight at the skate park had been arranged between two other boys who became engaged in an angry Snapchat exchange.
The teenager had been at a birthday party with one of the boys, where he had consumed alcohol and cannabis.
CCTV footage from the scene showed three cars entering the skate park car park, which included the stabbing victim and his cousin — the man who died — another car carrying the boy and three friends, and the third car with an older group, who one of the boys' friends had called "in case things went south".
The fight between the group lasted just over two minutes, with cameras catching two of the cars leaving.
The car of the man who died remained where it was, as it had been badly damaged.
The boy, who pleaded guilty to the other stabbing, maintained he had found the knife on the ground.
"I accept that the use of the knife was unplanned and impulsive," Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said.
"The offence was of short duration.
"He thought the victim was getting the best of the fight with his friend."
Boy shoved knife in waistband, jury hears
During the trial, the jury heard how the boy had shoved the knife in the waistband of his pants, and had told others he had stabbed someone.
But the court heard he had not known anyone had died until the next day when he found out via the media. He then got rid of the knife.
The court also heard it was months before he saw the police case and realised that the man who died had been stabbed multiple times.
He maintained that while he did stab the man's younger cousin, he did not kill anyone.
The jury agreed and found him not guilty of murder after a six-week trial.
But, today, Chief Justice McCallum sentenced the teen for the other stabbing, imposing a combined sentence of 13 months in jail, with the remaining three months to be suspended, and a good behaviour bond of two years.
