Three guilty of shooting dad dead in his garden

Michael Smith, 27, Adam Williams, 26, and Connor Walsh, 26, will be sentenced on 18 February

Three men have been found guilty of the murder of a man who was shot on a Merseyside street.

Rikki Berry, 36, died in hospital after the attack in Quarryside Drive, Kirkby, Knowsley, on the evening of 17 July.

Michael Smith, 27, Adam Williams, 26, and Connor Walsh, 26, were all found guilty of murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court earlier.

They will be sentenced on 18 February.

Rikki Berry died after a balaclava-wearing man riding an electric bike fired four shots at him just after 18:30.

The electric bike was travelling on the pavement but in convoy was a black Seat Alteca Cupra being driven in the same direction on the road.

As the bike rider slowed down, almost to a stop, the car also came to a stop.

The car and the bike were alongside each other outside Mr Berry's partner's home, with Mr Berry in the front garden of the house.

Michael Smith fired four shots at Mr Berry, with three making contact, and Mr Berry died from a gunshot wound to his chest.

The court heard that Smith, 27, of no fixed abode, was the rider of the bike, with Adam Williams, 26, of Hamblett Crescent, St Helens, the driver of the car and Connor Walsh, 26, of Simonswood Lane, Kirkby, a passenger in the car.

Williams and Walsh were both present to oversee the killing, the court heard.

Telephone records showed the three men were in contact with each other in the run-up to the murder.

They were all together in the Cupra minutes before the shooting as they drove to conduct a recce of the scene.

After the shooting, the defendants switched off their phones and Williams left the Merseyside area.

DNA on one of the bullet casings recovered from the scene by police was found to match Walsh.

The three men were arrested and charged with murder, with all of them pleading not guilty.

Part-way through the trial, which lasted nearly four weeks, Walsh and Williams served defence statements naming Smith as the gunman.

Following this, Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence but continued to deny murder.

Rikki Berry, 36, was shot dead in Kirkby in July 2024

Senior Crown Prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: "This was a shocking, execution-style murder committed on a residential road on a summer evening in July 2024."

She said Rikki Berry was at home with his partner and young children when four shots were fired at him by Smith.

"It was only a matter of chance that no-one else was injured or killed by the gunman's actions," she added.

She said that "guns have no place in our communities" and people had a right to expect to be able to live without fear of this sort of violence happening on their doorsteps.

"Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Rikki Berry," she added.