Man guilty of drug dealer murder

Mr McAlroy was shot outside his home

A man has been found guilty of murdering a Lanarkshire drug dealer.

William Gage shot 30-year-old Justin McAlroy six times as he returned to his family home in March 2002.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Emslie ordered that Gage, 32, serve a minimum period of 20 years before being considered for parole.

During the trial the court heard that Mr McAlroy was under surveillance by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) for suspected drug trafficking.

Gage, from Glasgow, denied murdering Mr McAlroy and perverting the course of justice by trying to destroy evidence in the getaway car.

He was found guilty on the murder charge after a two-and-a-half week trial, but not proven on the other charge.

The court has to take account of a deliberate killing like this, particularly when a firearm is involved Lord Emslie

Mr McAlroy was shot in the head and body outside his four-bedroomed home in Acacia Way, Cambuslang, on 7 March, 2002.

He died in the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow, the next day.

Lord Emslie told Gage: "What is striking is that this was a premeditated killing in which a man in his prime of life was gunned down as he returned home to his pregnant wife.

"The court has to take account of a deliberate killing like this, particularly when a firearm is involved.

"I also note your escalating list of previous convictions, in particular a firearms offence, and that you were out on licence at the time of the crime."

During the trial the court heard that Mr McAlroy was the son of millionaire businessman Tommy McAlroy.

Only days before his death he was rubbing shoulders with top politicians at a fund-raising dinner organised at his father's country club.

Time 'running out'

However, the trial also heard that four days before he was shot Mr McAlroy was approached by a man who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

He told the court that Mr McAlroy owed £50,000 to drug barons and that he had been warned time was running out for him to pay up.

A detective at the SDEA told the court that McAlroy had been under surveillance as a known drug dealer since October 2000.

Mr McAlroy's wife Tracy told the court that she saw a man running away after her husband was shot dead.

She said she would never forget his "starey" eyes.

She said she could not think why her husband was killed, but agreed that there must have been a part of his life she did not know about.