Mum Jailed for Aiding Son in Evasion of Justice
The mother of Rhys Jones’ killer has been imprisoned once more after it was discovered that she helped another of her sons avoid a serious drug charge by allowing him to stay at her home.
The mother of Rhys Jones’ killer was sentenced to nine months in prison for assisting another of her sons in evading justice.
Janette Mercer, the 63-year-old mother of murderer Sean Mercer, was found guilty of assisting her son Joseph Mercer, whom she assisted while he was under investigation for drug supply charges.
In October 2020, the then-25-year-old was sentenced to 30 months in prison after being caught selling heroin and crack cocaine from a hotel room in Bournemouth.
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Dorset Police raided his room in January 2017 after receiving reports of a “suspicious white powder” inside, as well as a strong odor of cannabis.
Ms. Mercer was sentenced on Monday after it was discovered that she assisted Joseph in remaining at large while he was wanted.
Prosecutor Charlotte Kenny told Liverpool Crown Court that she had allowed him to live with her while lying to police about his whereabouts on numerous occasions.
During one office visit, she “presented as extremely anxious” and was “having palpitations,” but she claimed she didn’t need an ambulance.
They knocked on her door twice more on December 4, 2019, but received no response.
During the second visit, a dog could be heard barking inside while the television was on. A PC contacted Mercer by phone on this date, but she stated she “only spoke to him now and again”.
On June 13, 2020, the police finally found Joseph Mercer at the property.
The court heard that it was “evident he had been living there” as well as spending time at the Malmaison Hotel in Liverpool city center.
Ms. Mercer was heard sobbing in the dock yesterday as she was sentenced to nine months in prison.
The proceedings were temporarily halted before sentencing because Mercer appeared to be hyperventilating.
After saying, “I’m going to pass out,” she was given a paper bag to breathe into. I’m going to pass out. “I’m going to pass out.”
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“You told the police you only spoke to him occasionally on the phone and had been urging him to hand himself in,” Judge David Potter said after a brief recess. You were extremely nervous when the police approached you in July 2019.
“In December 2019, the police arrived and you did not answer. Police had intelligence that Joseph was spending significant amounts of time, if not living, in your home as late as 2020.
“All of this led the cops back to your house on June 13, 2020. He had been living there, either at your house or in a hotel in the city center.
“You lied, but I am satisfied because you were afraid of what Joseph would do if you told the truth. It is a serious crime to assist an offender.”
He added that the nature of her offense “strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system”, and “the public needs to know that prison will follow”.
Janette was previously imprisoned for three years in 2009 for perverting the course of justice after lying to detectives investigating Rhys Jones’ murder.
In August 2007, Sean Mercer, then 16, shot and killed the 11-year-old.
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