Two yobs jailed over the killing of schoolboy Rhys Jones cleared of drug charges after no one would pick them out in an identity parade
The pair helped Rhys's killer Sean Mercer
TWO thugs locked up over the killing of schoolboy Rhys Jones have been cleared of running a drug ring after witnesses refused to point the finger at them.
Prosecutors ditched the case against James Yates, 28, and Dean Kelly, 25, because no one would pick them out in an identity parade.
The pair — who helped 11-year-old Rhys’s killer Sean Mercer — had been accused of peddling heroin in Dundee.
A source close to the case said: “They were alleged to be at a higher level than the street dealers — essentially they were said to be supplying them.
“They were seen in Dundee several times and Yates in particular was accused of being directly involved in enforcing the operation.
“However, none of the witnesses were willing to point the finger and directly say they were involved when it came to the crunch and the case had to be dropped.”
Yates and Kelly were said to have run the drug operation between March and September 2015.
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Yates — caged for supplying the gun that killed Rhys — was also accused of threatening to attack Leanne McCabe and David Milne and torch their house in June.
It was claimed he had sent text messages and made phone calls to them with the warnings.
He also faced a charge of robbing Alistair Anderson at knifepoint in Dundee on August 19 that year and punching him on the head and stealing a mobile phone and £70 in cash.
Yates was recalled to prison over the charges and Kelly was later remanded.
They were both transferred to Perth Prison around New Year ahead of trial in February.
But the case collapsed before it was due to call before a jury at Dundee Sheriff Court last week.
The Crown Office confirmed prosecutors were forced to drop the charges but vowed to keep the case “under review”.
Rhys was shot dead by Mercer in a Liverpool car park after getting caught in the crossfire of a gangland feud in August 2007.
Yates was jailed for seven years in 2009 before his sentence was later increased to 12 years.
Kelly gave Mercer an alibi and hid the gun in his loft. He was caged for four years.
Mercer got life with a minimum of 22 years behind bars.
Yates was released from jail in 2014 but it is understood he has now been recalled to prison and will remain there until 2020.
Kelly will walk free as his term expired in 2013.
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