Gunmen set trap for teenager on e-bike, jury told

Two masked men lay in wait for a teenager and then shot him in the back as he rode past on his electric bike, a jury heard.

Nyle Corrigan, 19, was struck by a single bullet from a Glock 9mm handgun on Boode Croft in Stockbridge Village, Knowsley, at 18:30 on 12 November 2020.

Four men have gone on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of his murder, while a man and woman are also in the dock charged with assisting an offender.

Opening its case, the prosecution said Mr Corrigan was targeted with "ruthless efficiency" after the escalation of a row over a £60 debt owed to him.

Richard Wright KC alleged Martin Wilson, 37, was the gunman while his 26-year-old friend Connor Smith joined him in setting a "trap" for Mr Corrigan.

Jamie Coggins, 28, and Anthony Llewelyn, 25, are accused of helping to plan the murder.

All four deny murder and conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Mr Smith's parents - Melanie Smith, 47, and 49-year-old Mark Sharpe - are charged with helping him flee to Portsmouth, en-route to Spain.

They both deny assisting an offender.

Mr Wright told the jury: "This was not some random act of street violence.

"It was rather a targeted and planned attack executed with ruthless efficiency by a team who had staked out the location knowing that their victim was due to be there."

CCTV footage played in court showed Mr Corrigan riding along Boode Croft to an area partially obscured by a tree.

A shot could then be heard, and the fatally wounded teenager staggered back into view before collapsing.

Two suspects were seen to approach him and say something before riding away on Mr Corrigan's Sur Ron bike.

Paramedics were called to the scene but Mr Corrigan was declared dead at 19:20.

Mr Wright told the court the background to the shooting had been an increasingly heated dispute between Mr Corrigan and a friend of Mr Wilson's - Liam Cohen - who had seemingly owed Mr Corrigan about £60.

The jury heard Facebook messages showing Mr Corrigan becoming impatient after Mr Cohen appeared to ignore his requests to be paid.

On 9 November 2020, Mr Corrigan allegedly insulted Mr Cohen's partner Kayleigh Donnelly in a message.

The court heard this led to the dispute growing "out of hand" and Mr Wilson becoming "incensed".

Mr Wright said that on the evening of 11 November, a group of masked men - including Wilson - turned up outside Mr Corrigan's family home in Little Moss Hey.

The group allegedly told his mother Lesley Kelly that her son was "dead" and would be "getting it".

Mr Corrigan was not home at the time.

The following day Mr Wilson was recorded on CCTV buying two pairs of black gloves, two black hats and two black face masks from a convenience store in Huyton before getting into Mr Smith's Volkswagen Golf.

The court heard that, before the shooting, a witness had seen two masked men getting into a car in Quickthorn Crescent in Stockbridge Village.

The prosecution alleges this was a BMW driven by Mr Coggins.

It is also claimed Mr Llewelyn had been in telephone contact with his co-defendants and Mr Corrigan.

Prosecution barrister Mr Wright told jurors that Mr Corrigan was a user of cannabis and also sold drugs locally.

He asked them to consider whether that meant he regularly visited certain locations or whether it could be arranged to meet him.

Mr Wright said the murder weapon had been recovered in an unrelated police operation, and was found to have a defect meaning a second cartridge would not have loaded after the initial shot.

He said the defendants all denied having anything to do with the shooting, adding that they would likely argue the prosecution evidence amounted to a "heap of unfortunate coincidence".

The trial continues.

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