Two jailed in Linn murder case

Tools were stolen from Mr Linn's van

Two men who admitted handling stolen tools which belonged to murdered salesman Gary Linn have been jailed for reset.

Martin Birnie, 33, was sentenced to 18 months at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, while his co-accused Christopher Miller, 32, was jailed for 15 months.

Both men had originally denied stealing property following the disappearance of Mr Linn in August 2001.

But during their trial at the High Court in Glasgow in November, the pair changed their pleas.

Gary Linn was killed in August 2001

Another man, Owen Anderson, was convicted last month of bludgeoning Mr Linn to death. He was jailed for life

Reset is the Scottish law against the handling of stolen goods.

Birnie, of Dalkeith, and Miller, of Gorebridge, had admitted resetting tools at the IMEX Enterprise Centre in Loanhead and elsewhere in Scotland on the day Mr Linn disappeared.

Sentencing Birnie, Lord Emslie said: "I accept that you had nothing to do with the killing of Gary Linn and that you were initially led to believe that this was a fraudulent insurance job to which the owner of the tools was party."

He also noted Birnie pled guilty to reset at a relatively early stage of the initial trial.

But he added: "You must have realised when the van-load of tools arrived that this was not just a simple insurance job but it seems that you carried on regardless and for a considerable period refused to acknowledge your involvement or help police."

Owen Anderson was convicted of murder

Lord Emslie said the seriousness of handling tools worth £30,000, and the fact that Birnie had been the "prime mover" in setting up the deal with Anderson could not be overlooked.

Sentencing Miller, the judge said he regarded his offence as "serious", but that a shorter sentence of 15 months reflected the lesser role he had played.

He also acknowledged Miller's regret about his offence and noted that he too had pleaded guilty during the original Gary Linn trial.

Jim Keegan, who represented Birnie, said it was "regrettable" his client had not admitted his involvement earlier.

But he said Birnie had acted out of "self-preservation and fear" after receiving a sinister mobile phone message.

He said: "He clearly knew that Anderson was not just dishonest, but was also a man who was capable of much more than that.

The men were sentenced in Edinburgh

"His fear was increased when he received a message on his mobile phone telling him to stay out of the country.

"That was a chilling experience for him."

Mr Keegan said Birnie also accepted that had it not been for him, Miller would not have become involved in the crime.

Kevin McCallum, representing Miller, said his client's decision not to admit his involvement had also been prompted by fear and self-preservation.