John Fahey looks at the different roles played by those convicted alongside Sean Mercer over the death of Rhys Jones
MELVIN COY, 25, THE FIRST TIP OFF
The welder was the first person to alert Sean Mercer to the presence of rival Strand Gang thugs in Croxteth.
The father-of-one phoned the killer at 6.40pm when Mercer was in a shop on the Croxteth estate.
After the shooting Coy - who split his time between living with his girlfriend of nine years, Emma Hughes, and his parents - drove Mercer to nearby Kirkby, where his clothes were burned.
In court Coy, one of only two defendants to give evidence, claimed his recollection of the evening was poor.
He admitted driving to his father’s lock-up but only to collect car parts with best friend Gary Kays.
He could not remember what they collected, how long they were there or what they did there.
But Coy admitted speaking to Mercer 50 minutes before the shooting - contradicting the killer’s claim he lost his mobile phone the weekend before.
JAMES YATES, 20, THE ARMOURER
Yates bought the murder weapon, a 1915 .455 Smith & Wesson, three years before Rhys was shot.
He gave it to Mercer after the 18-year-old was tipped-off by Melvin Coy about the presence of Strand Gang members on Croxteth Crew turf.
Yates was charged with possessing the gun, helping Mercer get to Kirkby and destroying the killer’s clothes.
On remand, he was moved from a "proper" prison wing after 15 minutes because other inmates screamed "baby killer" at him.
Yates spent his days before being remanded over Rhys’s death getting up at midday and smoking cannabis.
He proposed to his girlfriend Leanne Morrey, 19, his "bird" of two years, from behind bars.
The blonde supported him during his numerous court appearances and on the third day of the trial arrived at court sporting a sparkling engagement ring.
Yates - who has four convictions for possessing cannabis - jumped from a first-floor window of his girlfriend’s house when police arrived to arrest him on April 17.
His parents Francis, 48, and Marie, 51, offered a £100,000 surety to secure their boy’s freedom after being charged.
