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| Teenager convicted of Rhys murder | Teenager convicted of Rhys murder |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A teenager has been found guilty of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones who was shot in a Liverpool pub car park. | A teenager has been found guilty of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones who was shot in a Liverpool pub car park. |
| Sean Mercer, 18, of Croxteth, was convicted of the murder after a nine-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court. | Sean Mercer, 18, of Croxteth, was convicted of the murder after a nine-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court. |
| Mercer was 16 when he shot Rhys outside the Fir Tree pub in August 2007 as the schoolboy walked back to his home from football practice. | |
| The court heard Rhys died in the arms of his mother, Melanie, after being shot in the neck. | The court heard Rhys died in the arms of his mother, Melanie, after being shot in the neck. |
| Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, was convicted by the jury after almost four days of deliberations. | Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, was convicted by the jury after almost four days of deliberations. |
| Fellow gang members James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road and Nathan Quinn, 18, of Wickett Close, both Croxteth; Gary Kays, 26, of Mallard Close and Melvin Coy, 25, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, and Boy M, 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted unanimously of assisting an offender after they helped Mercer evade the police for months. | Fellow gang members James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road and Nathan Quinn, 18, of Wickett Close, both Croxteth; Gary Kays, 26, of Mallard Close and Melvin Coy, 25, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, and Boy M, 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted unanimously of assisting an offender after they helped Mercer evade the police for months. |
| Mercer is due to be sentenced later | |
| Defendant Boy K, who can now be named as Dean Kelly, 17, of Sword Walk, Croxteth, after judge Mr Justice Irwin lifted reporting restrictions, was also convicted of four related charges. | |
| The judge also lifted an order banning reporting the fact that Quinn is already serving five years for gun-related offences. | |
| All of the verdicts apart from Kelly's were reached on Monday but could not be reported until now. | |
| As Mercer's guilty verdict was announced to the silent courtroom, Melanie Jones burst into tears. | |
| Mercer, Kays and Coy will be sentenced later. |