Gang leader Sean Mercer gunned down innocent schoolboy Rhys Jones was convicted of murder today.
Sean Mercer was just 16 when he fired the fatal shot but was already a hardened criminal steeped in the drug-dealing violence of Liverpool. Rhys was 11 and obsessed with football. He died in his mother's arms.Teenage gang leader who gunned down innocent schoolboy Rhys Jones was convicted of murder today.Mercer, now 18, stood trial after police finally cracked the wall of silence in the city that had protected him. As Rhys's parents Stephen and Melanie Jones looked on, six other thugs were also convicted of helping Mercer cover up after the shooting.They are James Yates, 20, Nathan Quinn, 18, Melvin Coy, 24, Gary Kays, 25, Dean Kelly, 17, and a youth aged 16 known as M who cannot be named because of his age. Mercer faces the juvenile equivalent of a life sentence when all the defendants are sentenced later at Liverpool Crown Court by Mr Justice Irwin.Rhys's father welcomed the conviction of Mercer, saying: "Finally justice has been done for Rhys." The murder in Aug...