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| Teenager convicted of Rhys murder | Teenager convicted of Rhys murder |
| (20 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. | 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. | All of the verdicts apart from Kelly's were reached on Monday but could not be reported until now. |
| Mercer is due to be sentenced later | |
| As Mercer's guilty verdict was announced to the silent courtroom, Melanie Jones burst into tears. | As Mercer's guilty verdict was announced to the silent courtroom, Melanie Jones burst into tears. |
| Mercer, Kays and Coy will be sentenced later. | Mercer, Kays and Coy will be sentenced later. |
| During the seven-week trial, the court heard how Mercer was a leading member of the Croxteth Crew gang, which terrorised the local community and was involved in a long-running and bloody feud with the Strand Gang, based on the neighbouring Norris Green estate. | |
| The jury was also told he had an "intense hatred" of Strand Gang member Wayne Brady. | |
| Mercer went to shoot Brady, 19, when he was told by Coy and Kays that he had been seen cycling near the Fir Tree Pub, which is on Croxteth Crew territory. | |
| Dressed in a black hoodie and tracksuit, Mercer armed himself with Yates's Smith and Wesson .455 revolver and cycled to the pub where he took up position on a grass verge alongside the car park. | |
| Holding the gun with both hands, he fired three shots at Brady's friends. | |
| Rhys, distracted by the sound of the first bullet, turned toward the gunman and was struck in the neck by the second bullet. |