Life for killer who lured friend from home... to be assassinated
A CAR salesman has been convicted of the assassination of his friend only yards from his doorstep.
Neil Anderson, 45, acted with others in the fatal shooting of gym owner Gary More.
Anderson lured Mr More, 32, from his home in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, moments before a gunman – who has never been identified – emerged from a car and repeatedly shot him on the head and body.
The victim had been warned by police about a potential threat to his safety weeks before the killing on September 6, 2018.
Anderson was convicted of murder yesterday at the High Court in Glasson, gow. He was found guilty five years after he walked free from the same dock when accusations of him being involved in a £7million cocaine empire were found not proven.
Getaway driver Thomas Guthrie, 25 – who said he was paid £100,000 for his involvement in the shooting – pleaded guilty to murder before the trial, which can only now be reported.
After the verdict, Judge Lord Mulholland told the pair: ‘This was an appalling crime you have been convicted of and pled guilty to. It was nothing short of an assassination of a young man outside his front door.
‘There is only one sentence for this, which is life imprisonment.’
Jurors were shown CCTV of Anderof Bothwell, Lanarkshire, arriving at Mr More’s house in a hired Berlingo van before the murder.
They were seen chatting at the front of the property before a white Skoda pulled up beside them.
The gunman left the car and repeatedly fired at Mr More as Anderson walked off screen. The shooter then sprinted back into the car with driver Guthrie racing off.
The court heard Anderson stayed at the scene for around 13 minutes and dialled 999 before leaving.
He denied in evidence of being involved in a plot to lure Mr More out of his home.
Mr More’s cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and neck. The Skoda was later found torched near Milngavie, Dunbartonshire.
Detective Sergeant Nick Eaton earlier told the trial how Mr More was given a ‘police personal safety warning’ six weeks before the murder. He said Mr More signed the document but was not ‘interested’ in it.
Mr More’s sister Lindsey Blaney, 36, told jurors she had ‘suspected’ that he was involved in illegal drugs.
Anderson and his brother David, 37, were cleared mid-trial of being involved in cocaine dealing after the allegation was dropped.
‘This was an appalling crime’