Mark Hillman murder trial: three men in court over shooting - re-read updates
Brandon Bilsborough, 19, and Connor Hunt, 18, deny murder while Paul Smith, 35, denies wounding with intent and assisting an offender
Peter Guy
"It was murder over a petty argument" 14:43
Case called on 14:29
Bilsborough "had a Glock handgun" 11:10
Wednesday January 18 - Day 4 09:46
Both men "were white"
Mr Medland asks her to confirm that both of the men she saw were white.
Ms Johnson: "Yeah, there was nothing I could see on their face, no facial hair, to identify them apart from that."
Mr Medland has no further questions, and Mr Power does not need to ask any questions.
That concludes today's proceedings and the court will reconvene at 10.15am tomorrow.
Thanks for following, I will be back with more live updates tomorrow.
"Don't touch anything, there's bullets on the floor."
Mr Johnson refers to a line where Ms Johnson tells the operator "there was a couple of people running" and a "car on the scene."
She says the two people were "two women running in the street, hysterically screaming."
Ms Johnson could be heard telling the women "don't touch anything, there's bullets on the floor."
NJ: "Why were you saying that?"
JJ: "Because it was now a crime scene."
NJ: "And you knew the importance of everything staying where it was?"
JJ: "Yes."
Mr Johnson asks how the males she saw moved away from the scene.
JJ: "It was more they weren't walking, they were moving at quite a fast pace."
Mr Johnson says he has no further questions.
Simon Medland, QC, asks some questions on behalf of Connor Hunt.
Mr Medland asks where she was looking out from when she saw Mr Hillman's body.
She says she was on the opposite side of the street from Mr Hillman's body.
Mr Medland asks where the men were in relation to Mr Hillman's body.
She points to a plan and the court hears they were within a few feet of Mr Hillman's body.
"He's not breathing"
Ms Johnson says she was only looking out on the scene for a matter of seconds, and then men appeared to be heading in the direction of Wilstone Close.
NJ: "DId you see anybody else round and about at that time?"
JJ: "No I didn't."
NJ: "What was the next thing that happened after these men left your sight?"
JJ: "I went into the house then to ring 999."
She says she described to the call handler what she had heard.
Mr Johnson says he will now play a recording of the 999 call over the court sound system.
Ms Johnson can be heard saying: "Hiya I am calling from Lloyd Close someone has just been shot."
She says she saw two men walking towards Asda in Breck Road.
Ms Johnson sounds concerned.
She says: "He's been shot in Lloyd Close, I think he's gone unconscious."
She can be heard saying there are two other women there.
"I heard three shots. He's in a really bad way to be honest. I heard a really loud bang."
Ms Johnson says she has just noticed a car which appears to have the window smashed by bullets.
"He's not breathing he has gone unconscious you know."
The operator says an ambulance is on the way.
The woman says the victim is in his mid 20s. She says there's bullets on the floor.
Ms Johnson tells the operator she she is an off-duty special constable.
She says she heard what sounded like fireworks and looked out of the window to see two males heading towards Breck Road.
She says Mr Hillman's phone appears to be ringing - and the sound of emergency service alarms are heard in the background.
Ms Johnson says the police have arrived and the call ends.
Two men near Hillman after shooting
The next witness, also behind a screen, is in court and the jury are re-taking their seats.
She takes the oath, and becomes tearful.
Judge Globe reassures her that she will not be in court long.
The woman states her name as Jessica Johnson.
Mr Johnson asks her what it was that drew her attention to a man being shot dead on April 27.
She says she heard gunshots.
NJ: "Could you hear anything immediately having heard gunshots?"
JJ: "Yes, Mr Hillman on the floor."
She says she could see Mr Hillman through the window, and also saw two males on the other side of the road.
Mr Johnson asks her to point out the location of the men and Mr Hillman on a map of the scene.
JJ: "It appeared to me because I could see one more clearly that one was on a bike."
Ms Johnson says she could not see whether the other male was also on a bike or on foot.
Mr Johnson asks her to describe his clothing.
JJ: "A blue like puffa coat like padded, and it had the hood up but it didn't have any fur or markings on it."
She says the other man had a grey zip up top. The men were looking up towards Wilstone Close.
"I saw a man lying on the floor"
Mr Johnson asks Ms Yardley to point out the area on a map.
She says the men were going away from Lloyd Close, and were around 150m away, or a bit longer than the length of a football pitch.
NJ: "Did you see anybody else about?"
CY: "I saw a woman coming out of an alleyway, near the flats."
She points out the flats on a map.
Ms Yardley says she saw the woman looking down the road, but not what she was looking at.
She says the woman left and it "went really quiet."
Mr Johnson asks what happened next.
CY: "I just seen my neighbour looking down the street and at that point I went out, but the police was already out and at that point I seen what happened. I saw a man lying on the floor."
Mr Johnson says he has no further questions, and no defence lawyers have questions in cross-examination.
The court is cleared for the next witness.
Next Witness
The case is called back on and we are ready for the next witness.
The witness, Claire Yardley, takes the oath. She is giving evidence from behind a screen.
Mr Johnson begins by asking about the 27th April last year.
NJ: "Was there a very unusual incident in your local neighbourhood, on the 27th?"
CY: "Yes a shooting...in Lloyd Close."
She says the incident occurred at around 5.20pm, when she was in her back garden
CY: "I heard gunshots..it did sound like fireworks, but given the time of year I thought it was gunshots."
She says she "continued putting the bin out" and returned to the house to look out into the close.
At that point she says she could not see anything, and looked further down the street.
She says at that point she saw two males on bikes, at the point where Lloyd Close continues and becomes Hodson Place.
Conversation with PC
Ms Moran is escorted to the witness box and takes the oath.
She says she is a police constable with Merseyside Police, stationed on the Wirral.
She is asked if she knew Witness H, and says yes.
On April 28 last year she was told by a colleague that Witness H was trying to get in touch with her in relation to a murder in Lloyd Close.
PC Moran says she met Witness H later that evening in Allerton Police Station.
Mr Johnson says he does not wish to ask any questions about that conversation, but Mr Power, for Bilsborough, does.
Mr Power asks her about the notes she took from the conversation, and asks her to look at a copy she had been given.
NP: "DId he tell that he had been at 2.30pm the previous day that he had been to see a woman he knew as Hayley?"
PC Moran agrees.
The jury hears that Witness H told her that four males attended the flat, one of which he named as 'Connor'.
He did not provide any further names.
NP: "He told you that Connor had a gun in his waistband which looked like a Glock. He said he had knowledge of guns and was confident in what he had seen."
Mr Power says he described Connor as having "floppy" hair and wearing a blue Berghaus jacket.
He said one of the other males was "chubby" and "mixed-race" and another was wearing a dark coat and had long dark hair.
The jury are told the males left wearing hoods and about ten minutes later he heard shots.
NP: "I think it's right constable that he didn't say anything about four people riding past after he heard shots?"
JM: "I haven't made any notes."
Mr Power says he has no further questions.
Mr Johnson asks whether just because there were no notes does not mean he did not mention it.
JM: "Yes, these are literally bullet points of the conversation."
That concludes PC Moran's evidence.
Judge Globe asks the jury to leave court for a few moments.
Hunt picked out
Ms Horwood says that on June 24 last year Witness H, who just gave evidence, also took part in a Vipa procedure.
The procedure involved a film of nine people including Brandon Bilsborough. He was asked if any of the people he saw at 17 Lloyd Close, on April 27.
Witness H saw the film and then said; "I don't need to see it again."
Witness H picked out image seven, which Ms Horwood says showed Brandon Bilsborough.
She says: "He was asked what part did that person play? He replied, 'he had the gun on him'."
Witness H was later asked to undertake a second Vipa parade, in which Connor Hunt's image was used.
He was shown nine images and picked out number six, which showed Hunt.
Ms Horwood says Witness H was asked what role number six played.
He replied: "He was there with the other kid."
Ms Horwood sits down and Mr Johnson calls the next witness, Joanne Moran.
Vipa parade
After a short delay we are ready to continue with the next evidence.
Anya Horwood, junior counsel for the prosecution, will now read some formal admissions to the jury.
Mr Horwood begins by explaining how an police VIPA identification procedure works.
She says it involves a potential witness being shown a video film containing pictures of nine people, including a particular suspect.
The suspect's solicitor is present throughout.
At 11.15 on June 2, 2016, a Vipa procedure was carried out involving nine images, including one of Brandon Bilsborough, who was number five.
Michael Edwardson was the witness and was told by officers to see if he could identify the any of the men he saw in 17 Lloyd Close, including one who was holding a firearm.
After the procedure Mr Edwardson said: "It's number 5."
Bilsborough's image was shown again and Mr Edwardson confirmed that was the person he saw at 17 Lloyd Close.
The same procedure was carried out in relation to Connor Hunt, who was suspect four on the film.
Mr Edwardson was asked if any of the pictures showed one of the men he saw in 17 Lloyd Close.
He asked to see the film again, and asked to see picture four and seven.
He then told officers "it was four."
Witness H referred to "flinching" away from gun before trial
Mr Johnson refers to Witness H's police statement in which he describes "flinching" and "moving back" when he saw Bilsborough pull a gun.
In the statement he says: "I was surprised to see a gun in the middle of the day."
NJ: "That's what you were saying back in June, well before Mr Edwardson gave evidence in this case?"
WH: "Yeah."
Mr Johnson says that in the statement Witness H mentioned that he saw two men going past on bikes "towards the direction Mark Hillman was shot."
That concludes Mr Johnson's questions, and completes the evidence of Witness H.
"Serious consequences"
Mr Johnson says he has some further questions in re-examination for the prosecution.
He asks what consequences he was trying to avoid by withholding his name from going in the Echo.
WH: "Serious consequences, I could get shot myself."
Mr Johnson reads a statement given by Witness H yesterday, about his concerns over press coverage. "It is not concern for my own safety but for my family members in their homes where they have lived for a long time."
He states that he worries over people "setting fire" to his family members' homes.
The statement says: "I don't want to be labelled a grass and I know the kids in the local area would do something bad just for the sake of it even if they had nothing to do with the people in the case."
Witness H says he was concerned that certain people would take action if his name was printed in the Echo.
"It was murder over a petty argument"
Mr Power suggests that Witness H read on the Echo liveblog that Mr Edwardson heard four "loud cracks."
WH: "Listen mate, I don't give a s*** what he said. I know what went on."
Mr Power suggests he knew that Mr Edwardson told the jury that the curtains were closed, at the time when he had already told the police he saw two men rode past.
NP: "You knew that Mr Edwardson talked about you yesterday and it was reported in the liveblog you had a knife and scissors?"
WH: "I had scissors not a knife."
Mr Power suggests he said he had scissors, rather than a knife, to "play down" his paranoia.
Witness H says: "Well would you not be paranoid in a flat like that?"
Mr Power suggests that Witness H told a police officer that one of the men at the flat was wearing a red coat.
He also suggested he did not tell her which way the lads went "because you didn't know did you?"
WH: "Of course I knew, I was being vague. I didn't want anything to f****** do with it did I?"
Mr Power suggests he mentioned a Glock handgun.
WH: "I am telling the truth, I have no reason to lie."
NP: "Brandon didn't go into the back room did he?"
WH: "He did."
NP: "He wasn't having a joke with you because you were acting weird and paranoid weren't you?"
WH: "No I wasn't."
NP: "He did not produce a firearm did he?"
WH: "Yes he did."
Mr Power suggests he upped the number of lads who went past the window, moments before the shooting, from two to four.
Witness H says that at least two men went past.
Mr Power says in 2004 Witness H was convicted of intimidating a witness.
Mr Power asks what it was in relation to.
WH: "To get some charges dropped."
NP: "You're someone who wants to stop the truth coming out?"
WH: "That was about some petty s*** not f***** murder. Lad getting killed over some petty argument, over who was selling bits where, f****** scum."
He says: "I have had nightmares over this and everything, I was in a pub speaking to someone the other day and it turned out to be Mark Hillman's brother, that's why I done it."
NP: "So it was a pang of conscience was it?"
Mr Power has no more questions.
Case called on
Judge Mr Justice Globe returns to court and the usher is asked to retrieve the jury.
The witness, who cannot be identified, is back in the witness box and will continue to be questioned by Mr Power.
Mr Power begins by mentioning the Echo coverage of the case.
NP: "I am suggesting that you are in important ways trying to make your evidence fit the prosecution case and what you heard Michael Edwardson say yesterday, do you understand?"
WH: "I understand, but I haven't."
Mr Power asks why earlier Witness H said to the jury that when Bilsborough pulled the gun out "it might have looked like he was pointing it at me."
Witness H says: "Because of all the people in the room, that's what it looked like."
Mr Power suggests he never mentioned opening the living rooms curtains to police.
WH: "Well I never thought it was relevant.
NP: "Well why did you think it was relevant today?"
WH: "Because I was asked the questions.
Mr Power suggests he never mentioned curtains or scissors to the police before today.
NP:" You mentioned scissored because you were playing down the fact that you were paranoid around the flat with a knife?"
WH: "No."
NP: "You have been reading the Echo coverage haven't you?"
WH: "No I haven't been looking at no Echo."
NP: "Did you have any reason to look at the Echo?"
NP: "Yesterday court finished early because you made a statement saying you didn't want your name in the Echo?"
WH: "Not me my mother, she didn't want her name going in she was going beserk."
Mr Power asks if he checked the Echo to see if his name had gone in.
The witness says his mother checked but he did not.
Mr Power suggests that Witness H knew from reading the Echo liveblog that Michael Edwardson claimed Bilsborough pointed the gun at him.
He denies this.
"I was shot in the legs"
Mr Power asks when Witness H went to the Czech Republic.
He says he went around five years ago on a mate's stag do.
NP: "Was going to the firing range, firing automatic and semi-automatic weapons part of the stag do fun?"
WH: "No it was just something to do, me and my friend."
NP: "Was that before or after you got shot?"
WH: "After."
NP: "Who shot you?"
WH: "I don't know."
NP: "Where were you shot?"
WH: "Kensington."
NP: "Was it random?"
WH: "No it's not going to be random is it...I have done things to people."
Witness H says he was shot in the legs with a shotgun.
Mr Power asks if he has ever held a gun, apart from in the Czech Republic.
WH: "Yeah I'm not going to lie, I have."
NP: "Why?"
WH: "Just because that's the life I lead isn't it?"
Mr Power suggests this would be a convenient point for lunch, and the court will reconvene at 2.15pm.
"Everyone says I get paranoid"
Mr Power asks where he got his drugs in April last year.
Witness H says he got his drugs from a man named Callum, and also sold drugs in the Fairfield area.
Mr Power asks what kind of drugs he took at Ms Gaghan's house.
Witness H repeats he sniffed around six lines of powdered cocaine, but not crack-cocaine.
Mr Power asks him why he told the jury earlier: "People might say I'm paranoid."
WH: "I become very observant."
NP: "Did Michael Edwardson say yesterday in his evidence that you were paranoid?"
Judge Globe intervenes and tells Witness H not to answer that question.
He asks Mr Power to rephrase the question.
Mr Power suggests that Witness H had never mentioned paranoia.
WH: "I knew that people would come out and say I'm paranoid because that's what everyone says I get like."
Mr Power asks him to look at his police statement.
In the statement it says Witness H left the flat to buy cocaine.
WH: "That was a good half an hour before the lads turned up."
He says he called a friend who delivered the drugs to Lloyd Close.
NP: "Did you pay for them?"
WH: "Yeah, you don't get them for free do you?"
Mr Power asks how many lines he had before calling his friend. He says he had two or three lines, and then after his friend delivered the drugs he snorted around five lines before the shooting.
Mr Power asks if he knew he was going to be asked about picking up scissors.
WH: "Well he asked me, he said you picked up a knife and I said no I picked up scissors."
Mr Power asks how he knew Hayley Gaghan.
WH: "I don't know she was just a brass (prostitute) wasn't she? I was just passing by and popped in, and I found myself in this f****** situation.
"It's not somewhere I always go."
Mr Power asks how long he had known Brandon Bilsborough. Witness H says over a year.
"Crack makes me paranoid"
Mr Medland asks if after hearing the gunshots Witness H saw Mr Hillman on the road.
SM: "Did you see two women there?"
WH: "Yeah I think so."
Witness H says he did not go to where Mr Hillman was lying, but took in the scene from "over the road."
He confirms this was before the arrival of the ambulance and the police.
Mr Medland says he has no further questions.
Nigel Power, QC, for Brandon Bilsborough, will now ask some questions.
He begins by asking whether Witness H has been following the case in the press.
WH: "No, only what my mum has been telling me….I had a little look last week."
NP:" And what did you see last week?"
WH: "Just what the prosecution was telling the jury outlining what the case was about."
NP: "Did you look at the press coverage last night?
NP: "Online?"
NP: "On your phone?"
Witness H says his mum told him "that Mike (Edwardson) fella" had given evidence.
He denies that she told him what Mr Edwardson said in his evidence.
Mr Power asks if he takes crack cocaine.
WH: "No, I don't take it because it makes me paranoid."
NP: "And what do you do when you're paranoid?"
WH: "Well it doesn't make me paranoid, just more alert, but not like paranoid where you are imagining things."
Judge Globe asks him to clarify whether crack makes him paranoid or not.
WH: "Well it heightens my senses, yeah it does make me paranoid yeah."
Witness H says he was not taking crack on the day of the shooting.
Difference between statement and evidence
Mr Medland asks where he was in the flat when he next saw any of the four lads.
WH: "In the living room sitting in the chair."
He says from the chair you can see out of the window into the alleyway.
He confirms at that point in the flat was himself, Hayley Gaghan and Michael Edwardson.
SM: "Were anyone of you still taking drugs at that point?"
WH: "No, I wasn't anyway I don't know about them but I definitely wasn't."
SM: "Did Hayley smoke some more crack-cocaine at that point?
WH: "I don't know she might have done."
Mr Medland says this is what is stated in his witness statement.
WH: "She might have done."
In the statement Witness H said around 10 minutes passed before he saw the lads go past the front window.
Witness H says he saw all four lads.
Mr Medland says the statement only refers to two lads going past the window on bikes, and does not mention all four men.
SM: "There's no suggestion there that you saw the four lads, or you saw the two lads on the bikes and two on foot. You just say, you saw the two lads on bikes."
SM: "How many lads went past the window of that flat that you actually saw?"
WH: "Two."
SM: "So it isn't 100 per cent accurate to say that two went past on bikes and two on foot is it?
WH: "No.. it was not the four."
Witness H says he could not tell whether one of the lads on the bikes was Connor Hunt.
Cross-examination resumes
Mr Justice Globe returns to the bench and we will resume Witness H's cross-examination.
Mr Medland suggests that when he came to compile his police statement, Witness H said he saw the direction the four men left the alleyway area, despite saying earlier the curtains were closed.
WH: "It's just common sense isn't it? There's only one way they could have gone."
Mr Medland reads from Witness H's statement, given shortly after the day of the shooting: "I watched them through the living room window, they went right up the alleyway towards Everton road.."
WH: "I just assumed they went that way."
Mr Medland asks how long it was the four lads were in Ms Gaghan's flat overall.
WH: "About five minutes maybe."
He says the men were in the alleyway outside for a "couple of minutes" after leaving.
Mr Medland asks about Ms Gaghan closing the curtains.
SM: "Was my understanding correct that you opened the curtains again?"
Mr Medland suggests he could not see what was happening when the curtains were closed.
Witness H agrees, but says the curtains were only closed for around 20 seconds.
Judge Globe calls a short break until 12.15pm
Hunt "could have been" in bedroom when gun was pulled
Mr Medland suggests that he was a bit more alert because he was in Lloyd Close.
Witness H agrees, and confirms that he was behaving in this way before Connor Hunt and the others arrived at the flat.
Judge Globe asks him to confirm he had picked up the scissors before Hunt arrived.
Witness H agrees.
Mr Medland: "Is it right that is the sort of thing you do just in case?"
Mr Medland: "Between the time that Steely was kicked out by Hayley, but before the time that Connor Hunt arrived, did you take some of the lines of cocaine in that period?"
WH: "I did yes."
He also confirms that Michael Edwardson took drugs in this period.
Mr Medland moves on to the point where the defendants and the other two men arrived.
SM: "Because of your experiences in houses like this and because you have been shot, is it right to say just seeing the gun made you flinch and you were concentrating very hard on the gun?"
WH: "I was yes."
SM: "I am going to suggest that while this is going on Connor was behind you in the bedroom with Hayley?"
WH: "Could have been yeah."
Witness H agrees he would not have been aware of what was behind him when here was someone in front of him with a gun.
SM: "Given your knowledge of the world of drugs and selling drugs, would it be right that some people would store drugs at someone else's house?"
WH: "Yeah but not at someone like Hayley's you would never get them back."
Mr Medland suggests that Hunt went into the bedroom with Ms Gaghan and that Brandon Bilsborough was not in there with him.
Witness H says all three of them ended up in the bedroom and that Bilsborough did go in there.
"I knew something was amiss"
Mr Johnson: "What did that scene then cause you to do?"
WH: "Run back inside and call a taxi."
He says the taxi never arrived as Lloyd Close was sealed off by police.
Witness H says he left an hour later.
WH: "I had to give my name and address before they (police) would even let me leave the flat."
NJ: "Were you asked to go on an identity parade and identify Connor and Brandon?"
Simon Medland, QC, will question Witness H on behalf of Connor Hunt.
SM: "There is no dispute that Mr Hunt was there that day, I will not try to disagree with you on that."
Mr Medland asks how much cocaine Witness H had taken in the hour before Hunt and Bilsborough turned up at the flat.
WH: "About six lines."
SM: "Did you spend pretty much all the time you were in the flat up until Connor arrived sitting in the arm chair we have seen?"
WH: "I was yeah."
SM: "And was Mr Edwardson spending pretty much all of the time sitting on the couch?"
WH: "Yeah, he might have got up a few times but yeah."
Mr Medland suggests he was "very used" to taking cocaine.
WH: "I have taken cocaine for 20 years, it has no effect on me."
SM: "It must have had some effect on you or you wouldn't have bothered taking it?"
Witness H agrees with the suggestion it had some effect but not as much as it would on someone else.
Mr Medland asks if he was paranoid.
WH: "I wasn't paranoid. I was vigilant, I have always been like that."
Mr Medland suggests he displaying paranoid behaviour, including picking up knives.
WH: "I just knew something wasn't right, I knew something was amiss in that flat that's why."
Judge Globe asks him to confirm whether he indeed pick up a knife.
WH: "I might have picked up a big pair of scissors or something, not a knife."
Judge Globe interjects and asks how he was behaving.
WH: "I always act a bit more vigilant when I am round people's houses like that, because they are junkies you know what I mean."
"I know gunshots"
He says Hayley Gaghan went outside, spoke to the men who were in the alleyway, returned and closed the curtains.
NJ: "Did you think it was strange?"
WH: "Yes I did..I opened them myself about 30 seconds later."
NJ: "What could you see?"
WH: "They (Hunt, Bilsborough and two associates) had gone then."
NJ:"What happened next that was unusual?"
WH: "I saw them come past, it was hot that day, the sun was shining, hoods up, they come past the alleyway…"
He clarifies that two of the men were on foot, and two were on bikes, and they came past the window together - from right to left - and out of view.
NJ: "Did you hears or see anything after that?"
WH: "I heard four gunshots."
NJ: "How long after they had gone out of view did you hear gunshots?"
WH: "Seconds...two or three seconds."
N: "Did you say anything?"
WH: "I said what the f*** that's all about? Hayley said it's just fireworks, I said,'it's not fireworks, I know the sound of a gun…
NJ: "How quickly were the shots fired?"
WH: "At first I thought it was an automatic, a full automatic gun they were fired that quick."
He says he has fired fully automatic weapons in the Czech Republic.
WH: "I thought it couldn't have been an automatic cos I had seen that lad with the gun in the flat."
He says Ms Gaghan left the flat for a minute or two.
NJ: "What state was she in?"
WH: "Hysterical she was….she said someone had been shot."
WH: "I went outside to the end of the alley...and I seen the lad over the road on the floor."
He says he called a taxi "because I am out of here me."
ID Procedure
Witness H says after the gun incident Bilsborough, Hunt and Ms Gaghan went into the bedroom and closed the door.
He says they remained in the room for "two or three minutes maybe." H says he could not hear what was going on.
NJ:" After they shut the door what happened in the living room?"
H: "One of them other two lads there asked if they could build a spliff."
He says Mr Edwardson spoke to the other lad and the spliff was lit.
He repeats he has not seen him before or since.
NJ: "Have you ever been asked to go on an identification procedure?"
H: "Yes, a couple of weeks ago."
NJ: "Did you pick someone out...and did you pick someone out who you identified as the lad building the spliff?"
H: "Yes."
Mr Johnson: "When you said not have seen him since did you mean in person?"
He clarifies that the person he picked out in the ID procedure was the same person he had seen smoking the spliff in Ms Gaghan's flat.
Mr Johnson asks what happened when Bilsborough, Hunt and Ms Gaghan left the bedroom.
Witness H says Bilsborough said "See you later" and all four men left together, heading outside into an alleyway area.
"I have been shot myself"
Mr Johnson asks what he means by a semi-automatic handgun.
H: "It has a slide on it and has a magazine."
Witness H says this kind of gun, as he understands, ejects spent bullet casings when it is fired.
He says the gun was black in colour, and on his right hand side to the front.
Judge Globe interjects and asks how much of the gun he saw.
Witness H: "All of it, because he pulled it out."
He clarifies the gun was pulled around six or nine inches before being replaced.
NJ: "How long did he expose the whole gun for?"
H: "Seconds...it might have looked to someone else like he pointed it at me but he didn't point it at me it was just the way he pulled it out."
NJ: "Do you have any experience of firing a gun?"
WH: "Yes I have been to a firing range in the Czech Republic...I have also been on the other side of a gun, I have been shot myself so I know exactly."
Witness H says he fired "all kinds of guns" in the firing range including semi-automatic handguns.
NJ: "When Brandon exposed the gun what did you do?"
WH: "I flinched backwards."
NJ: "It might seem an obvious question but why did you do that?"
WH: "Why? At this stage I thought, 'have they come to do something to me'?"
Bilsborough "had a Glock handgun"
Mr Johnson asks where the bikes were left, and Witness H says they were left outside by a wall.
NJ: "Did all four lads come into Hayley's house?"
H: "Yeah."
Witness H says the four men, including Bilsborough and Hunt, entered the flat and the door was closed.
They then came into the living room.
Mr Johnson asks H to look at a photo of the flat, and asks him where everyone was.
He says he was sat on an armchair with Mr Edwardson on a couch with Bilsborough, Hunt and Ms Gaghan talking in the living room.
The two other lads were stood by the couch.
He says he spoke to Bilsborough and asked what they were up to.
H: "He said we have come to get you...you have robbed the wrong the person."
Witness H says Bilsborough was "messing about" and "laughing as he said it."
NJ: "Did he say anything else to you...or give you the real reason he came?"
H: "No."
H: "He pulled a gun out from his waistband."
Witness H points out where Bilsborough was stood when this incident took place.
There is some confusion as Judge Globe seeks to clarify exactly where Bilsborough was.
Witness H says Bilsborough was facing him, and was stood very close by.
The jury are told he lifted his t-shirt to reveal a semi-automatic handgun.
H: "To me it appeared to look like a Glock type handgun."
"I was not paranoid - just vigilant"
H says after Steely left Ms Gaghan and Mr Edwardson were smoking crack, while he was talking to them and snorting cocaine.
Mr Johnson asks him "what state" he was in after taking cocaine.
H: "Cocaine doesn't get me in a state, I have been sniffing cocaine for 20 years you would think I was normal looking at me.
"Some people say I get paranoid off it but it's not paranoid, I just get more vigilant."
Mr Johnson asks him about the arrival of four lads at around 5pm.
He says he recognised one of the men as Brandon Bilsborough, who he knew to "say hello to know and then."
He says he also recognised Connor Hunt.
Witness H says he had "never seen" the other two lads and described them as white in their late teens or early 20s.
Mr Johnson asks about the clothing the other two lads.
H: "Berghaus or North Face coats, waterproofs."
He says when the men were outside they had their hoods raised, but took them down when they arrived.
He says two of the men were riding bicycles but cannot remember which two.
"I sold drugs and took drugs"
Mr Johnson begins by asking him if he knows Hayley Gaghan.
Witness H says he does, and says he knew she lived in Lloyd Close on April 27.
Mr Johnson asks if he knew Michael Edwardson, and Witness H says he met him a couple of times.
NJ: "Back in April did you have any connection to the drug world?"
H: "Yeah I have all my life….selling drugs and selling drugs."
H says he sold crack-cocaine and heroin.
Mr Johnson asks where he dealt in drugs.
H: "In Fairfield and in Scotland."
He clarifies he means Scotland the country rather than Scotland Road.
Mr Johnson asks about the 27th, and asks what he did on that day.
H says he attended a Probation appointment at around 3pm and took a taxi to a friend's address in the Tavy Road area.
Following this he walked to Ms Gaghan's address in Lloyd Close, arriving at around 4pm.
H: "Hayley wasn't there, it was either Michael (Edwardson) or the other guy, Steely, who let me in."
He says Steely was a friend of Hayley Gaghan's.
NJ: "When Hayley got back what happened?"
H: "She went mad about that lad Steely being there and he had to leave."
Witness cannot be named
The court usher is asked to fetch the jury who take their seats in court.
The next witness, giving evidence from behind a screen, cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Hereafter I will refer to him as 'Witness H'.
Judge Globe apologises for the delay and explains to the jury that Smith's barrister, Michael Lavery, has been delayed by the crash on the M62.
Witness H takes the oath and Nick Johnson, QC, will begin questioning him.
Judge Globe asks him to speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear.
Mr Justice Globe enters court and the defendants are in the dock.
Judge Globe addresses the barristers on legal issues.
The issue is dealt with and we will be underway shortly.
I am in Liverpool Crown Court this morning for the fourth day of the trial of three men over the shooting of Mark Hillman.
Connor Hunt, 18, and Brandon Bilsborough, 19, deny murder and wounding with intent while Paul Smith, 35, denies wounding with intent and two counts of assisting an offender.
Judge Mr Justice Globe presides over the case, while Nicholas Johnson, QC, prosecutes, assisted by Anya Horwood.
Hunt is represented by Simon Medland, QC, assisted by Henry Riding.
Bilsborough is represented by Nigel Power, QC, assisted by Andrew McInnes.
Smith is represented by Michael Lavery.
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