Rhys accused 'issued threat'

The teenager accused of killing Rhys Jones said the intended target of the shooting was going to "get it", a court has heard.

But the witness - a girl who is too young to be named - said Sean Mercer was only joking when he issued his threat.

Asked if Mercer explained his words, the 16-year-old said: "No. This was years ago, he was just messing, winding me up."

The girl, giving evidence from behind a curtain, also said she did not pass on the message to the gang member or anybody who knew him.

Richard Pratt QC, defending Mercer, said the accused has no memory of the reported conversation and put it to the girl that it never happened.

Schoolboy Rhys, 11, was shot in the neck in a pub car park when he got in the way of bullets being fired by Sean Mercer at a rival gang member, Liverpool Crown Court has heard.

The prosecution says Mercer, 18, was a member of the Croxteth Crew gang and fired three shots at alleged members of rival group, the Strand Gang.

Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, Liverpool, denies murder.

Alongside Mercer, six others are accused of assisting an offender. They all deny the charges.

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