Rhys murder not gang-related, court told

A lone gunman was responsible for the murder of Rhys Jones, a jury was told today.

As closing speeches continued at Liverpool Crown Court, Gordon Harrison, defending James Yates, said the murder had none of the hallmarks of a gang-related incident.

Rhys, aged 11, was shot dead at the Fir Tree Public House in Croxteth, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.

Sean Mercer, aged 18, denies murder and denies being a member of the Croxteth Crew gang.

The prosecution claims Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, blasted three shots across the car park after targeting members of the rival Strand Gang who had strayed onto his turf.

They say he then cycled to a friend’s house where he was helped by fellow gang members in disposing of the murder weapon and his clothing.

Yates, aged 20, of Dodman Road and Nathan Quinn, aged 18, of Wickett Close, both Croxteth; Gary Kays, aged 25, of Mallard Close and Melvin Coy, aged 24, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, deny assisting an offender along with Boy M, aged 16, and Boy K, aged 17, who cannot be named.

Mr Harrison described the trial as a “special case” which had generated a great deal of public interest and anger.

He said: “The tragic events at the Fir Tree public house had the most profound effect on the people of Liverpool and beyond.

“But the most profound occurrence has been the utterly devastating effect on the parents of Rhys Jones.

“One cannot possibly imagine what it must be like to lose a child in those dreadful and violent circumstances.”

Mr Harrison said the evidence of the gunman’s alleged intended targets, Wayne Brady, aged 20, Kevin Davies, aged 19, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named, had failed to support the prosecution case.

He said: “This case, tragic though it was, does not have the hallmarks of a gang related incident.

“It has all the hallmarks of a lone gunman acting on his own on something he had mano-a-mano, not against Rhys Jones but against somebody else at the Fir Tree public house.

“James Yates could not have been more disinterested in what was going on. He was in a sweet shop at the very moment things were supposed to be ’going down’.

“You would have expected some sort of heightened tension, some sort of gathering at the Fir Tree pub as a simple back-up.

“This theory that this was a gang related incident falls flat – the gang were not all there.”