Man accused of killing Matthew Daulby, 19, admits carrying knife on night of murder in Ormskirk
A man accused of murdering a teenager in a town centre clash has admitted that he had a knife in his possession on the night of the incident.
Matthew Daulby, aged 19, was stabbed in the melee in Ormskirk and later died in hospital.
Thomas Dures, aged 21, of Whalley Drive, Aughton, is on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of murdering Matthew, of Lydiate, near Maghull.
He denies the offence.
Dures also denies violent disorder, causing grievous bodily harm to a second man, and unlawfully wounding a third.
The trial was told that the tragic case involved a "violent, fast-moving incident" between two rival groups in Ormskirk town centre in July 2023.
The prosecution says CCTV images show Dures delivering the fatal blow.
On Thursday defence counsel took Dures through many pages of text messages and several incidents involving two groups of young men who were known to each other.
Dures, from Ormskirk, said he was aware of a chat group calling itself MRS - reportedly the Maghull Riot Squad.
He knew the teenager he is accused of killing.
Asked whether he had ever done anything to upset the MRS, he replied: "No, I don't think so."
Dures said that in June - the previous month to the killing - he was confronted by two masked men on electric bikes.
One said to the other : "There's Dures". He recognised the biker as a member of the MRS and said the man was carrying a machete inside his trousers.
Dures ran off and escaped by jumping into someone's back garden.
Turning to the fateful day in July 2023, he said he was out in Ormskirk with a friend. They were going to the Alpine Bar in Railway Road.
On the way the friend said to him: "Hey Tom, hold onto this for me," and gave him a knife.
Dures said his friend thought he would be searched, but Dures would not. In the event, that was exactly what happened so he was in possession of a knife..
The prosecution claims that as a result of a violent incident on that night in Ormskirk involving Dures and another man, the Maghull group sought revenge.
The man sent a phone message to a group including Matthew Daulby and they agreed to go to Ormskirk to retaliate to the attack.
A street fight resulted in the death of Matthew Daulby. He suffered a stab wound to the centre of his chest and other injuries.
Earlier, Det Sgt Dave Greenwood was cross-examined by counsel for Dures about extensive CCTV evidence.
Det Sgt Greenwood agreed that the images were not very high-resolution and taken at night.
He also said it appeared that when the incident first broke out, Dures was alone and outnumbered 10 to one.