Drug dealer jailed for gun murder

The judge said Seton showed no remorse

A drug dealer has been jailed for 30 years for shooting a mechanic in the eye with a 12-bore shotgun.

John Seton fled to Holland after shooting John Bartlett, 29, but was arrested in possession £8.8m worth of cannabis.

Seton, 25, of south London, was found guilty of murder last month. The Old Bailey heard he killed him as he was asking him to pay a £24,000 debt.

Mr Bartlett was shot in Chislehurst, south-east London, in March 2006.

Seton lured Mr Bartlett, who ran a car repair business in Erith, south-east London, to a quiet road where he shot him at close range.

Judge Anthony Morris jailed Seton for life to serve a minimum term of 30 years.

Mr Bartlett was shot as close range

He said Seton had hatched a plan to blame the murder on another man but the jury had seen through the plot.

"By his conduct, the defendant showed no remorse and sought to blame an innocent man," said Judge Morris.

Det Supt Jill Bailey said after the case: "This was a very challenging investigation, made more difficult by the destruction of the car involved in the crime, and Seton being assisted by others to evade capture and operate under a false identity when he fled abroad."

A second defendant, Lee Osborne, 25, a DJ from Mottingham, south-east London, was found not guilty or murder.