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Man jailed over drive-by murder | Man jailed over drive-by murder |
(31 minutes later) | |
A man who was found guilty of taking part in the murder of a teenager in a drive-by shooting in Renfrewshire has been jailed for life. | A man who was found guilty of taking part in the murder of a teenager in a drive-by shooting in Renfrewshire has been jailed for life. |
Anthony Collins, 30, acted as a lookout when 18-year-old Andrew Devlin was shot outside Suzy Q's snooker club in Paisley in August 2007. | Anthony Collins, 30, acted as a lookout when 18-year-old Andrew Devlin was shot outside Suzy Q's snooker club in Paisley in August 2007. |
He was also convicted of attempting to murder Gerald O'Doherty, the intended target of the shooting. | He was also convicted of attempting to murder Gerald O'Doherty, the intended target of the shooting. |
Collins must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole. | Collins must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole. |
The High Court in Glasgow heard how Mr Devlin had been attending a friend's 21st birthday party when he was shot. | |
Eyewitness, Thomas Coutts, 32, from Glasgow, said he believed a contract had been taken out on fellow partygoer, Gerry O'Doherty, nicknamed Baw Bag. | |
The drive-by shootings in Paisley were acts of appalling lawlessness and violence which caused one death and could have caused more Lord Malcolm | |
Mr Coutts told the court how three shots were fired from a Peugeot car which drew up in front of the snooker club. | |
He told the court it appeared as if the shots had been fired at Mr O'Doherty, who ran towards the door, nudging Mr Devlin out of the way. | |
CCTV footage taken from the club showed Mr Devlin falling inside the door as he was shot. | |
Mr Coutts described "hundreds of holes in the back of his shirt" as the teenager lay gasping for air. He died later in hospital. | |
The jury also heard from Mr O'Doherty, who said he panicked and ran after seeing a gun pointed at him out of a car window. | |
He was injured in the attack and spent eleven months in hospital. He had his spleen removed and his bowel and intestines rebuilt. | |
Voluntary statement | |
When asked if he could identify the person who shot him Mr O'Doherty said: "I'm not 100% sure." | |
He then went on to point to Collins and said: "He looks like him. I'm not saying it's him, but from what I can remember it looks like him." | |
Collins was charged with Mr Devlin's murder and the attempted murder of Mr Doherty, along with Richard McCondochie, 25, and 28-year-old John Burke. | |
The jury heard Collins gave a voluntary statement to the police naming another man as the gunman. | |
The family is delighted at the sentence. It was all we could have hoped for. Now we can try and get on with our lives William DevlinVictim's father | |
Collins claimed in the statement he was just a lookout who was forced to get rid of the gun because he owed the other man £2,000. | |
Jurors convicted him of murder and attempted murder on the grounds that he acted as a lookout during the shooting. | |
Collins' co-accused John Burke, was acquitted of murder and attempted murder, after earlier pleading guilty to firearms charges. | |
He admitted storing the shotgun four months after Mr Devlin was murdered and looking after it. He was jailed for eight years. | |
The other co-accused, Richard McCondochie, was cleared of all charges. | |
Passing sentence on Collins, judge Lord Malcolm told him: "You participated in the deliberate discharges of a shotgun in a public place where the public was resulting in the tragic loss of Andrew Devlin. | |
'Appalling lawlessness' | |
"He was minding his own business, having a night out with friends. He was not the target. | |
"He had no involvement in the murky world of lawlessness and violence. However, this is exactly what can happen when a shotgun is fired towards people." | |
Lord Malcolm warned those who used firearms they could expect lengthy sentences to deter others. | |
He added: "The drive-by shootings in Paisley were acts of appalling lawlessness and violence which caused one death and could have caused more." | |
Speaking after sentencing, Andrew' Devlin's father, William, 40, said: "The family is delighted at the sentence. It was all we could have hoped for. Now we can try and get on with our lives." |
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