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Accused murderer wanted to make a name for himself, witness claims

Accused murderer Leroy Symons told police his brother killed Shane Minors to make a name for himself in the Parkside gang, Supreme Court head today.Mr Symons told police in an April 2010 interview that his half-brother Ronniko Burchall admitted the murder to him.He said Burchall felt accepted into the gang after the shooting.“He finally got what he wanted,” Mr Symons told police. “It’s all about being known. It’s not about revenge. It’s not a gang type of thing. It’s about Ronniko being accepted.”Both Mr Burchall and Mr Symons have been charged with the December 2009 murder of Mr Minors.Mr Burchall faces an additional charge of using a firearm to commit an offence.Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.The jury was shown the video of the 2010 interview this morning. In it Mr Symons told police that he had instructed his brother on how to use the firearm and gave him directions to Mr Minors’ home hours before the shooting.“Once he asked me that I knew what he was going to do,” Mr Symons said. “I didn’t think he was going to do anything that night.”He said the day after the shooting he received an angry phone call from the mother of Mr Burchall’s children, asking where Mr Burchall was, and why he killed Mr Minors.He later went to the Public Transportation Department, where Mr Burchall worked.Mr Burchall allegedly told Mr Symons he buried the firearm near the murder scene and told him to tell Jahkeil Samuels where the gun was hidden.Mr Symons told police that he did contact Mr Samuels, and asked the officers if that would make him an accessory to the crime.In the hour-long interview, Mr Symons detailed his troubled childhood, telling the officers that he was raised mainly by his father, and that both of his parents had drug problems.The trial will continue this afternoon.