Rhys accused denies shooting link

Rhys Jones died after he was shot in the pub car park

A man has denied starting the chain of events that led to the killing of schoolboy Rhys Jones in Liverpool.

Melvin Coy, 25, is accused of making a phone call to Sean Mercer, 18, alerting him to rival gang members in Croxteth.

Mr Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, denies murdering Rhys and Mr Coy, of Abbeyfield Road, West Derby, denies assisting an offender.

The prosecution claims Mr Mercer cycled to the Fir Tree car park and fired three shots, one of them killing Rhys.

Mr Coy told Liverpool Crown Court he spoke to Mr Mercer on his mobile phone hours before Rhys' death - contradicting the teenager's claim he lost it the weekend before the murder.

Mr Coy's barrister Benjamin Hargreaves asked him: "Are you responsible for starting the sequence of events leading to the shooting?"

Gang 'turf'

"No," replied Mr Coy, a welder.

Mr Coy denied going with co-accused Gary Kays, 25, minutes after Rhys's death to collect Mr Mercer, Nathan Quinn, 18, and James Yates, 20, from the house of a boy who cannot be named.

The prosecution alleges the men drove to Mr Coy's lock-up in nearby Kirkby where Mr Mercer was washed with petrol and his clothes burned.

Mr Kays, of Mallard Close, Croxteth Park, was cross examined by Neil Flewitt QC, leading barrister for the prosecution.

The joiner repeatedly told the court he could not remember details or phone calls from the night of the killing.

'Playing down'

He insisted he wanted to help the police when he was arrested in April and charged with assisting an offender, but could not be sure of the night's events.

He also denied making a phone call to Mr Mercer, tipping him off that alleged Strand Gang member Wayne Brady, 20, was on Croxteth "turf" just 20 minutes before the murder.

Mr Kays denied lying and "playing down" his involvement with Mr Mercer and Mr Yates, and denied trying to protect Mr Mercer.

Mr Yates, of Dodman Road, Croxteth; Mr Quinn, of Wickett Close, Croxteth; Mr Kays, of Mallard Close and Mr Coy, are accused of assisting an offender along with Boy M, 16, and Boy K, 17, who cannot be named.

The trial continues.