Boy gave accused Rhys killer alibi

A friend of the teenager accused of killing Rhys Jones gave him an alibi, a court heard.

Boy K told police he was at home with alleged gunman Sean Mercer, 18, watching a documentary about the rapper 50 Cent when the schoolboy was killed.

The jury at Liverpool Crown Court was read transcripts of police interviews with Boy K, who cannot be named and is on trial for assisting an offender.

He told police Mercer was with him when Rhys, 11, was shot dead as he crossed the car park of the Fir Tree public house in Croxteth, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.

The prosecution says Mercer was a member of the Croxteth Crew gang and fired three shots at alleged members of rival group, the Strand Gang, hitting Rhys accidentally as he made his way home from football practice.

When Boy K was interviewed three days after the murder he told police Mercer came to his home between 6.30pm and 7pm and stayed there watching the 50 Cent DVD until between 8pm and 8.30pm. Rhys was shot at around 7.30pm.

The interviewing officer asked if there was anything to corroborate the arrival and the departure times, saying: "Is there anything you did or anywhere you went that we can take the time from you?

"Did you make a phone call? Because you have been very specific about the time he arrived and the time he left."

Boy K replied "no", but added that he had his mobile phone with him and that was how he knew what time it was.

Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, Liverpool, denies murder. James Yates, 20, and Nathan Quinn, 18, both of Croxteth; Gary Kays, 25, and Melvin Coy, 24, both of West Derby, Liverpool, deny assisting an offender along with Boy M, 16, and Boy K, 17.

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