Jury in Jarvin Blake murder trial sent out to consider their verdicts

22-year-old Jarvin Blake died from a knife wound to the chest a matter of minutes after being stabbed in Catherine Street, Burngreave at around 3pm on March 8 last year.

Josiah Foster, 26, of Cookson Close, Wadsley Bridge; Caine Gray, 27, of Treetown Crescent, Treeton and Devon Walker, 24, formerly of Burngreave have been on trial accused of Mr Blake’s murder at Sheffield Crown Court for the last five weeks.

All three defendants deny the murder charge.

Walker denies a further charge of inflicting actual bodily harm on Mr Blake’s friend, Declan Maw, during the same incident.

A fourth defendant, Lewis Barker, 27, of HMP Lincoln, pleaded guilty to Mr Blake’s murder last month and will be sentenced following the conclusion of this trial. He was remanded into custody until then.

As he sent the jury out to retire their verdicts just before 2.30pm this afternoon, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, said: “Ladies and gentlemen, you must decide what was really going on on that day, on that evening, on that afternoon.

“Was this a joint attack upon Blake, against a backdrop of him dealing drugs in Pitsmoor? If so, is it proven, so that you are sure, in relation to each separate defendant on trial, that he was a participant, an intentional participant, in that. That, you may think, is the key.”

Judge Richardson asked the jury to also consider whether each defendant intended to cause at least ‘very serious harm’ upon Mr Blake, and therefore meet the necessary criteria for the offence of murder.

If the jury do not find that one or all of the defendants intended to cause Mr Blake very serious harm, they have the option of returning guilty verdicts in the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The trial continues