A man accused of murdering teenager Michael Toohey cut his electronically-monitored ankle tag off in the aftermath of the fatal incident.
Michael Williams and two of his brothers are among nine defendants currently standing trial charged with murder at Liverpool Crown Court over the 18-year-old's death. The teen died after allegedly being chased into Mobiles Junction and Internet Café on Monument Place, off London Road, and battered by a gang who were "called in" by a 14-year-old boy.
Jurors previously heard that the deceased had been pressured into selling drugs by a man referred to as "Gerry", with the incident coming against the background of a "war" between rival dealers. However, co-defendant Keiron Williams, 28, claimed that he raced to the scene after being told that Mr Toohey had threatened the youth with a knife and that the teen had then brandished this weapon once he pursued him into the shop.
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Michael, the youngest of the three Williams siblings in the dock, was called to give evidence from the witness box today, Wednesday. The 24-year-old, of Carlake Grove in Walton, said he had been driving around with his friends Callum Hewell, Matthew Wynn, Jack Knox and David Shelley - aged 21, 25, 20 and 26 respectively when he received a phone call from the youngster to say "he'd been threatened off Mr Toohey".
This prompted him to call another brother - 32-year-old Anthony, of Hillbrook Drive in Walton - to alert him as he was "a five minute walk, if that" away from the scene while he made his way there himself "to pick him up". Upon arrival, Williams saw the boy outside and was told that Keiron - of no fixed address, but formerly of Grieve Road in Fazakerley - had entered.
He said: "I just wondered what Keiron was doing in the shop, so I went in. As I've come in, there was a bit of shouting.
"I see Anthony jump over the counter. I walked under and through the crawl space to the staff area."
Williams said he did not enter the back room where Keiron had earlier followed Mr Toohey into, and where the light was turned off. He could see little apart from a person on the floor "just lying there", adding: "I said to Keiron 'get out and go' and after a couple of seconds he ended up walking out.
"I never went over the threshold of the doorway. From the looks of it to me, what I thought in my own head was he was just knocked out."
Williams said he did not see any violence being inflicted on Mr Toohey, and when asked how he suffered his fatal injuries replied "I'd be guessing". He denied having been involved in attacking the deceased, or that there had been a "plan to beat him up".
The witness said he had learned of his death "a couple of hours later". Williams added: "I seen the newspaper article about a serious incident on the ECHO.
"At that point I cut my tag off, simply because I knew that I was present at the scene so I knew I could possibly get recalled on licence back to jail and I didn't want that to happen. There were rumours circulating in the area about what happened.
"People said 'go, leave the area for a bit'. I went to stay with a friend that night."
It was at this address that Williams was arrested. He and his two brothers deny murder and manslaughter.
Also on trial are Hewell, of Stratton Road in Kirkby, Wynn, of Mosslawn Road in Kirkby, Knox, of Oakdale Close in Kirkby, Shelley, of Chiltern Drive in Kirkby, 33-year-old Steven McInerney, of Bridport Street in the city centre, and the 14-year-old - who cannot be identified for legal reasons. They have pleaded not guilty to the same charges, and the case continues.
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