Judge warns of knife 'scourge' as teen is jailed

A judge has called for society to take a stand again the "scourge" of knives as he jailed a teenager convicted of murder.

Jacob Zuco was found guilty of killing Leon Penman, 20, in Bedford in May 2024 following a trial at Luton Crown Court.

Judge Michael Simon handed Zuco, 19, of Kimble Drive in the town, a mandatory life sentence and said he must spend 20 years in jail before parole could be considered.

Jurors heard he stabbed Mr Penman with a "hunting-style" knife bought from a website called "knifewarehouse.com".

Zuco, who had worked as a labourer, told jurors he decided to start carrying a knife after being "robbed" in December 2023.

He said he now accepted that carrying a knife was "wrong" and "stupid", but he said he been been "scared".

Zuco, who turned 19 in April, had denied murder and wounding but admitted unlawfully possessing a bladed article.

He told his trial he had acted in self-defence and had not meant to kill or cause serious harm.

Sentencing, Judge Simon said: "This case is a good example of why young men who seek to justify the carrying of a knife as being for personal protection are both deluding themselves and putting members of the public at risk.

"The experience of the courts is that, by carrying a knife in public, you are in fact more likely to kill or be killed, especially when the knife involved is a hunting-style knife, lethal both in size and design.

"It is time for society as a whole to take a stand against the scourge of knives in the hands children and young people and to promote the mantra of 'lives not knives'."

Jurors had also found Zuco guilty of wounding Mr Penman, who was also from Bedford, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm following a previous incident in March 2024.

They heard that Zuco was 17 when he wounded Mr Penman and 18 when he killed him.

Zuco told the trial he had twice got a friend to buy him two "hunting-style" knives from a website called "knifewarehouse.com" - because he was not an adult at the time.

He said he had thrown the first knife away after a "tussle" with Mr Penman in March, but had asked the same friend to order another from the same place.

Zuco said he had paid £50 for each knife.

When sentencing, Judge Simon added: "If it be true that an adult friend bought a knife for the defendant, who was under 18, not once but twice, that person bears a very heavy moral responsibility for the death of the victim in this case."

In a statement released by police, Mr Penman's family had said: "Leon was a much loved son, brother and a loving father to two beautiful daughters and a friend to many.

"We are all truly devastated."

Zuco said Mr Penman had pulled out a knife and tried to strike him during the March 2024 incident, which centred on the sale of a jacket, he told jurors.

He claimed Mr Penman had punched him and "run me over" with a car and he thought he was "going to kill me".

The trial was been told the dead man had convictions relating to drug use and violence.

At the time of his death, Mr Penman had been serving a two-year suspended prison sentence after being convicted, in January 2024, of offering to supply cocaine, jurors heard.

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