Man jumped out of window when police came knocking after drug dealer was shot

A man accused of being part of a "pack" who shot a rival gang member in the leg jumped out of a bedroom window when the police visited his mum's house.

Curtis Byrne is said to have travelled in convoy with his brother and alleged gunman James Byrne on e-bikes and "hunted" down their target before firing six bullets at him. It came after a third supposed rider, Mason Smith, was allegedly hit by a car, as well as another incident which saw a volley of shots fired at a drug dealer in the street.

The three men went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court today, Tuesday, accused of offences including attempted murder. Alex Langhorn told a jury of seven men and five women during the prosecution's opening that the men had left the Byrnes' mum's home on Cross Hey Avenue in Noctorum, Wirral, shortly after 10pm on May 11 2022 "looking for someone from the Ford estate", also known as Beechwood.

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They were said to have "found" Mitchell McGraa on Fender Way, where he was seen on CCTV walking beside Beechwood Social Club before three men on electric bicycles approached from the same direction. The footage allegedly showed 22-year-old Curtis Byrne at the front of this group "circling around" before Smith, 20, "tried to knock him off his feet".

Mr McGraa then reportedly "ran for his life" as James Byrne, also aged 22, "fired again and again and again". The victim was struck once to the back of the thigh, with a bullet becoming lodged within his leg, but was "able to make good his escape" via the rear of a parade of nearby shops.

Mr Langhorn said: "The crown says that these three young men set out that night intending to kill. Why else, you may ask, would they set out with a firearm?

"Why else would they fire not once, not twice, not three times? But again and again and again."

Jurors heard that the shooting came against a background of two opposing groups who were "involved in the supply of controlled drugs", one located on the Woodchurch estate and one based in Beechwood. The court was told that "tensions had been rising since at least 2021" and then "began to get worse".

One incident on September 7 2021 supposedly saw Smith chased down the street on his bike by a red Ford Focus before he was struck and left with numerous broken bones. The vehicle was subsequently found burnt out "just to the east of the Ford estate".

Then, on March 22 2022, a man called Callum Taylor was shot in the stomach as he allegedly dealt drugs on Hoole Road in Woodchurch. CCTV footage showed him being approached by a grey Ford car before he ran off as a series of five bangs were heard, followed by screams.

This vehicle was also later torched in an eastern area of Beechwood. Mr Taylor was described as being a "close friend" of James Byrne, with the two having lived together in New Ferry at one stage.

Mr Langhorn continued: "The crown say that all three of these defendants are connected to the Woodchurch OCG [organised crime group]. Mitchell McGraa, the man who was to be the target on the 11th of May, is associated with the Ford OCG.

"On the 11th of May, he was in possession of drugs and he was out on the Ford dealing. That was the motive, the crown suggest, as to why he became targeted."

The Byrnes and Smith were said to have been shown on CCTV leaving the address on Cross Hey Avenue before being captured on nearby Avelon Close, where James Byrne - who was labelled as "the man in charge" - was said to have been shown "pointing where to go" and "pointing the way forward". Six bullet casings were recovered from outside the social club following the shooting.

Mr McGraa was subsequently taken to Arrowe Park Hospital with a 1cm entry wound to the back of his thigh. He later underwent surgery in order to remove a bullet which had become lodged within his leg.

Police thereafter reviewed CCTV footage from the scene and noted him concealing a bag within bushes before the incident. This was found to contain several wraps of cocaine when recovered by officers.

Following the incident, the Byrnes and Smith were said to have been caught on camera running back to the property on Cross Hey Avenue, having "stashed their bikes elsewhere". They were never recovered by Merseyside Police.

At around 11pm the same evening, Smith and James Byrne allegedly left for their respective homes on Newark Close in Woodchurch and Thorburn Road in New Ferry in a taxi. The defendants then "dropped" their phone numbers the following day.

Smith was subsequently arrested on May 14, and gave a prepared statement under interview claiming that he had "no knowledge or involvement" in the attack and had not been on the Beechwood estate "for at least a year". Curtis Byrne was detained when PCs attended Cross Hey Avenue on May 19, being seen in a pair of shorts jumping out of a bedroom window.

He then "tried to run", but was caught after falling and later gave no comment when interviewed. James Byrne was quizzed by detectives on July 27 last year but "exercised his right to silence throughout".

Mr Langhorn added: "We say, when they set out from Cross Hey Avenue just after 10 o'clock armed with a firearm, they intended not only to endanger Mitchell McGraa's life, but to kill him. This was, we say, a pack from the Woodchurch out hunting someone from the Ford."

The Byrnes and Smith deny attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and wounding with intent. The trial, before Judge Garrett Byrne, continues.

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