A teenager accused of murdering a man when he stabbed him in the stomach during an alleged mob-handed attack denies that he has violent tendencies.
The 17-year-old has admitted stabbing Lee Clarkson outside him home but maintains he only intended to scare him and not cause him serious injury.
The 42-year-old bled to death outside his Bishop Auckland after he was beaten following a case of mistaken identity.
A total of five people were charged with murder following his death and two people, including the teenager, have already pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Jurors at Teesside Crown Court watched CCTV footage of a violent confrontation the teenager was involved in before the alleged murder.
Police outside the house on West Lane, Bishop Auckland, where Lee Clarkson was killed. (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)
During cross examination from the barrister of his co-accused, Michael Richardson, he was asked whether that was an example of his violent behaviour.
Christopher Tehrani KC asked: “Was that an example of you losing control and behaving violently?”
The teenager replied: “I am don’t have a habit of being violent.”
The barrister put it to the defendant that the footage showed the jury that he had a propensity to violence and had a reputation for violence.
The teenager replied: “No, I don’t have a reputation for violence at all.”
Lee Clarkson (Image: DURHAM CONSTABULARY)
Earlier in his evidence, the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “I bent over him and stabbed him twice while he was laid on the ground.”
His barrister, Simon Kealey KC, asked: “What was going through your mind when you stabbed him?”
“I was scared – I didn’t know what I was doing,” he replied. “I didn’t mean to kill him or cause him serious harm – I was just trying to scare him.”
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A post-mortem examination revealed that he had died as a result of blood loss after being stabbed in the abdomen.
Michael Richardson, 52, of Boddy Street, Bishop Auckland; Karl Jones, 45, of General Bucher Court, Bishop Auckland; Helen Jones, 43, of General Bucher Court, Bishop Auckland; Craig Dent, 42, of Gray Street, Eldon Lane; and the teenager who cannot be named for legal reasons, are all on trial for murder.
Two members of the group, Dent and the 17-year-old have admitted manslaughter but continue to deny murder of Mr Clarkson outside his home on West Lane, Bishop Auckland, on November 29 last year.
The murder trial continues.
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