Gerbil accused’s DNA ‘on gun bag’

A DNA profile matching a man accused of murder was found on a carrier bag with a gun in it, a court heard yesterday.

A forensic scientist said that the probability of it being anyone other than William Paterson was one in a billion.

Two guns in a plastic bag were found by workmen clearing shrubbery in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, in January 2010.

Each gun was wrapped in another plastic bag and Paterson’s DNA was found on the handle of one of them.

Forensic scientist Marie Campbell also told the High Court in Glasgow that a sample taken from the handle of one of the guns was analysed and a DNA match was found for the profile of former murder accused Ross Monaghan.

But the jury was told she could not ‘categorically’ say that would have been as a result of Mr Monaghan handling the gun and that it ‘could well be t hat it i s secondary transfer’.

Mrs Campbell was giving evidence at the trial of 35-year-old Paterson who denies murdering Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll on January 13, 2010, in the car park of Asda in Robroyston, Glasgow.

Retired firearms expert Ronald Withers, 69, told the court that Carroll’s body was kept in the car where he was killed while it was transported to a police office in Paisley, to ‘preserve the locus’.

The jury heard that two bullets fell from Carroll’s jacket when it was taken off – and when his T-shirt was removed another bullet fell out.

Mr Withers said: ‘It appeared that they perforated the body completely and it was only the clothing that held them.’

He agreed that a number of bullets and pieces of bullets were later removed from Carroll’s head and body.

It is claimed that Paterson – while masked and acting with others – shot 29-year-old Carroll.

Paterson i s also accused of a number of firearms charges and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The indictment claims that on January 23, 2010, he boarded a flight from Glasgow to Malaga ‘to avoid arrest, prosecution and conviction’.

He denies the charges and incriminates six other people, including Mr Monaghan.

Paterson claims he was at an address in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, at the time of the shooting.

The trial continues.