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A friend of a teenager accused of murdering an 18-year-old in a Dublin park has said he brought the knife that was used in the fatal assault.
The witness, who cannot be identified as a minor, told prosecutor James Dwyer SC that the defendant took the knife from him minutes before the riot because “he did not want us to get in trouble.”
He said that the defendant, who is also a minor, did not find out about the knife until he saw the witness with him in the park.
The 17-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty of the murder of Azzam Raguragui (18) in Finsbury Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14 on May 10, 2019.
His statement was not accepted by the Director of the Public Ministry and he is being tried in the Central Criminal Court.
On Monday, the jury also heard from a friend of the deceased who denied having thrown the first punch that caused the riot.
The witness told defense attorney Michael Bowman SC that the fight started when a friend of the defendant struck Azzam Raguragui on the head.
He further accepted that he, the witness, had suffered broken bones in his hand from hitting a member of the other group of adolescents. He also agreed that he trains in mixed martial arts.
When asked about an alleged incident more than a month after the fatal incident in Dundrum in which Mr. Bowman said that a friend of the defendant was knocked unconscious, the witness declined to respond saying that he did not want to incriminate himself.
The trial continues before Judge Paul McDermott and a jury of six men and six women.
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