Murder suspect says he 's*** himself' when masked gunman on e-bike opened fire
Adam Williams is one of three men who are currently on trial accused of murdering 36-year-old Rikki Berry

A man accused of driving a car in convoy with a masked gunman on an electric bike claimed that he "s*** himself" when the rider opened fire in the street and said: "In my head, that Surron was for me lad."
Rikki Berry, who was known as "Nuggy", died aged 36 after being shot four times by a balaclava-clad assailant on an electric bike outside his girlfriend's home on Quarryside Drive in Kirkby in the early evening of July 17 last year. Adam Williams, Michael Smith and Connor Walsh went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court today, Tuesday, accused of his murder, having allegedly performed a "reconnaissance mission" on the address in advance of the shooting before travelling in convoy alongside the bike in a black SUV during the drive-by attack.
A jury of seven men and five women were shown CCTV footage of the incident during the prosecution's opening this morning. It showed the shooter approaching the property, where a toolbox and a pink child's bicycle could be seen lying in the front yard, by riding along the pavement on a Surron e-bike wearing a balaclava, gloves and dark clothing with his hood up.
Four loud bangs could then be heard as the gunman produced the weapon and pointed it in the direction of Mr Berry, who was working in the garden beside the front door. Around 20 members of his family were present in the public gallery and could be seen in tears and wiping their eyes with tissues as the video of the shooting was played.
The gunman was supposedly "travelling in convoy" alongside a black Seat Ateca Cupra car, which came to a halt beside the cyclist as the "murderous attack" was carried out. Williams admits being the driver of this car, with Smith and Walsh apparently being carried in the rear at the time.
David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, told the court: "Four shots. That is what this case is all about. It is about events on Wednesday the 17th of July last year at 6.33pm. In essence, in broad daylight.
"Two of the bullets passed straight through his body. A third skimmed his upper shoulder area. One of the bullets that hit Rikki Berry entered the right side of his chest and exited via his left shoulder. This shot was the cause of his death, a gunshot wound to the chest.
"The prosecution say that the three men in the dock were all involved in this shooting. The prosecution case is that Adam Williams was the driver of that black Seat Ateca Cupra. He was there overseeing the shooting. He was not there simply by chance, the prosecution case being that the car was operating in tandem with the electric bike
"Also in the car was Connor Walsh, making sure that the job was done. Not only was he in the car, you will hear in due course about some DNA recovered from a bullet casing. One of those bullet casings had DNA on it which matched that of Connor Walsh.
"As for Michael Smith, you will see his movements around the Merseyside area – particularly in Kirkby. His movements, the prosecution say, coincide with that of Adam Williams and Connor Walsh. He was there six minutes before, when a reconnaissance mission before the shooting took place. The prosecution say that he too was clearly involved."
The court was shown footage of Mr Berry arriving at Quarryside Drive at 5.35pm on the day of the murder, being dropped off at the address as the pillion passenger of another e-bike. Mr McLachlan said of this: "Within one hour, he would be dead."
Cell siting evidence meanwhile Williams moving from his home on Hamblett Crescent in St Helens towards Kirkby earlier that afternoon, with all three defendants' phones being located in this area from around 5.30pm. The devices then moved towards West Derby alongside the Seat Ateca before making the return journey, when the car asw caught on camera stopping at the junction of Clorain Road and Quarryside Drive – yards away from Mr Berry's partner's address – at 6.27pm and turning right, away from the property in question.
Mr McLachlan said of this: "You will have to decide, was that a trip by Adam Williams to look at the sights in Kirkby to see how things were on that day? Or was that a recce, a reconnaissance mission which clearly puts Adam Williams in the mix."
"The prosecution say that Adam Williams was the driver of that car. Connor Walsh was also in that car, as was Michael Smith – as indicated by cell site evidence. The prosecution say, together, they are in tandem. They are operating together to conduct a shooting in broad daylight in Kirkby."
Of the shooting itself, Mr McLachlan added: "Are those two vehicles operating together or not? Or is this simply coincidental?
“That is the story of the case. You can imagine the pandemonium, the distress and hysterics at Quarryside Drive as people went to the aid of Rikki Berry and did their best for him. There was not very much that they could do, because he had been shot in the chest."

Williams, who appeared suited in the dock, was subsequently said to have "dropped off personnel" outside an address linked to Walsh, who wore a black suit and tie, on Farrier Road in Kirkby before "scarpering back to St Helens". The 26-year-old then turned his phone off shortly before 9.30pm, after which he began using a new mobile at around 10.15pm and rang his co-accused, also aged 26 and of Simonswood Lane.
Smith, of Marbury Road, also switched his phone off in the aftermath of the shooting, with this device "never to be used again". The 25-year-old, who wore a turquoise Nike t-shirt in court, was thereafter said to have spent a period staying with his girlfriend at Majestic Inn, a hotel on Hawthorne Road in Bootle.
Williams, known as "Willow", was then said to have called a man named Stephen Frail five days later on July 22 and told him: "How come you are going around telling people I shot Nug when I have known him for years and you for years? Do you really think I am capable of murder?
"Lad, I come down the Molly Road and that Surron was behind me. In my head, that Surron was for me lad. I was s***ting myself as I thought it was for me. I put my f***ing foot down."
Four bullet casings were meanwhile recovered from the pavement outside the property, with one later being found to contain Walsh's DNA. A series of bullet fragments were discovered inside the kitchen of the address, while one bullet passed straight through the house and shattered a pane of glass in a shed in the back garden.
The Seat Ateca vehicle, which was owned by Williams' uncle and insured by an "associate" of his, was found parked outside a house on Wilson Road in Prescot on July 19. From inside, officers recovered the packaging of a Vodafone SIM card containing this defendant's fingerprints and another cardboard box with Walsh's fingerprints on it.
Mr McLachlan concluded his opening by telling jurors: "On the 17th of July at 18.33, Rikki Berry was shot dead whilst working in his front garden at 30 Quarryside Drive in Kirkby. The prosecution case is, but it will be a matter for you to determine, that all three defendants were involved in some shape or form in that shooting.
"In the lead up to the shooting, the three defendants were, at times, together. The prosecution say that they were literally in this together. They were involved in the planning and preparation that goes into shooting someone dead in broad daylight on the streets on the outskirts of Liverpool.
"Is it coincidence that car goes past that location at that time, bearing in mind what is going to happen six minutes later? Bearing in mind what the DNA shows?
"The prosecution say not. That was a recce. The front garden was where Rikki Berry was working on something or other in that confined space. At 18.33, sadly, he lost his life.
"The prosecution say that there can be no dispute in this case that this was a murder. Firing four times at a man with a gun, the prosecution say, equals murder.
"Adam Williams admits that he was the driver of the black Seat Cupra at the time of the shooting, but he says that he was unaware of any plan to harm Rikki Berry or to discharge a firearm in his direction. Connor Walsh similarly will admit that, on the 17th of July last year, he was the rear seat passenger in the black Seat Cupra when the shots were fired at Rikki Berry.
"Connor Walsh will say that he had not seen the electric bike until the car slowed down and stopped. He is unable to offer any real explanation as to how his DNA is on the bullet casing that was recovered from outside where the shooting took place.
"Michael Smith accepts presence at the scene of the incident. He accepts that he was in the car with Adam Williams and Connor Walsh. He, like them, will say that the shooting took him completely by surprise and took place without his knowledge or Involvement. Literally, he is saying, is he not, 'I was in the wrong place at the wrong time'."
But Mr McLachlan added: "The prosecution case is that they all knew what was going to happen. They all knew what was going to go down. They were all there, lending support to what was a murderous attack on Rikki Berry – a man that stood no chance against the four bullets heading in his direction."
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All three defendants deny murder and possession of a prohibited weapon with intent to endanger life. The trial, before the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC, continues.