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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Teenager convicted of Rhys murder | Teenager convicted of Rhys murder |
| (30 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. |
| After the verdict was read out, Rhys' father Stephen Jones said: "Finally justice has been done for Rhys." | |
| 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. |
| Rhys' parents welcome verdict | |
| 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 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. |
| 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 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Mercer was convicted after the nine-week trial | |
| Holding the gun with both hands, he fired three shots at Brady's friends. | 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. | Rhys, distracted by the sound of the first bullet, turned toward the gunman and was struck in the neck by the second bullet. |
| Mercer then aimed one final shot at his two rivals. | |
| The third bullet struck a disused well as the gunman and his targets fled the scene. | |
| The court heard Rhys died in the arms of his mother. | |
| After the shooting, Mercer cycled to the home of Boy M, where he called on his fellow gang members to help him avoid the law. | |
| The chief investigating officer Det Supt Dave Kelly said: "Mercer's conduct on the 22 August showed total disregard for Rhys and others. | |
| "Since killing Rhys, and during his trial, it's fair to say that Sean Mercer has shown no remorse whatsoever. | |
| "We only hope that the verdict will bring home to him the enormity of what he has done and the pain and suffering he has caused." |