Rhys accused 'told friend he had shot a child'

Gang members 'tried to destroy evidence' linked to 11-year-old's killing

A teenager accused of the murder of the schoolboy Rhys Jones told a fellow gang member that "he had just shot someone and that a kid had gone down", Liverpool Crown Court has heard.

Sean Mercer, 18, from Croxteth in Liverpool, and two co-defendants arrived on bicycles at the house of Boy M, who cannot be named for legal reasons, immediately after the shooting before summoning other members of the Crocky Crew via mobile phone, it was claimed.

Boy M told police that, acting out of fear for his life, he had hidden a hat and gloves left at his home by Mr Mercer, who denies killing the 11-year-old. Rhys died from a bullet wound to the neck after straying into the line of fire during an alleged tit-for-tat gang shooting in the car park of The Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, Liverpool, on 22 August last year – an innocent victim of a violent feud between the Crocky Crew and their rivals, the Nogga Dogz.

On the second day of the murder trial, the jury heard how Mr Mercer's fellow gang members allegedly hid the murder weapon, burnt his clothing and used petrol to remove gunshot residue from his body. His bike was also collected from Boy M's house after the killing, it was claimed.

James Yates, 20, from Croxteth; Melvin Coy, 25, and Gary Kays, 25, both from West Derby, Liverpool, as well as two 17-year-old boys and Boy M, 16, all deny assisting an offender.

Neil Flewitt QC, for the prosecution, said DNA taken from a bicycle believed to have been ridden by the gunman matched that of Mr Mercer. He also claimed the bike bore the same serial number as one belonging to the accused. "Those facts, we suggest, provide compelling evidence that Sean Mercer was the person who shot Rhys Jones," he said.

Mr Flewitt described how the satin silver Specialized Hardrock mountain bike was discovered dumped six months after the shooting following an appeal. Mr Mercer had received a similar bike in April last year after his previous bike was stolen and he claimed on the insurance, it was alleged. A forensics specialist matched the bike to one captured on CCTV footage of the gunman escaping from the murder scene.

The bicycle had been hidden less than 250 yards from an industrial unit in Kirkby, north Liverpool, which Mr Mercer and several of his co-accused allegedly visited hours after Rhys's murder, the court heard.

A witness, Wayne Brady, 20, who, it is claimed, was one of Mr Mercer's real targets, said he had enjoyed good relations with the accused. Under cross-examination by Mr Mercer's barrister Richard Pratt QC, Mr Brady admitted there had been problems in the past. "We had a little argument years back," he said, but could not remember what it was about.

Describing the events in the pub car park on 22 August, he said he heard three gunshots and how the two friends he was with "dropped their heads and pedalled as fast as they could away from the shops". He said that he found out that Rhys had been shot when his former girlfriend told him, "There's a kid lying dead on the floor over there".

The trial continues.