Kevin Carroll murder: 'Threat' made before shooting

Kevin Carroll was killed in an Asda car park in Robroyston

A Glasgow gangland figure threatened a rival drug dealer moments before he was shot dead, a murder trial has heard.

Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, 29, was shot dead in the Asda carpark in Glasgow's Robroyston area on 13 January 2010.

Steven Glen said moments before, Mr Carroll had told him: "You're working for me now, anybody that doesn't fall in line is going to get banged."

He was giving evidence at the High Court in Glasgow where William Paterson denies murdering Mr Carroll.

Mr Glen from Balornock, Glasgow, told the court he was a drug dealer in 2010 and worked for a man called Alan Johnstone.

The jury heard he was phoned by Mr Carroll, who it is claimed wanted to meet him, on 12 January 2010.

'Violent person'

The witness said Mr Carroll texted him: "I'm going to come down to your house and use my feet to get in this time, you have no manners."

Mr Glen alleged that Mr Carroll also asked him to bring "Babesy" with him. The jury heard Babesy is Mr Johnstone.

The witness said he did not want to meet Mr Carroll as he was "a violent person" but agreed to talk to him at Asda because of safety fears.

Mr Glen said he asked his friend Jason McConnell to watch from the store cafe in case anything happened to him.

The jury was told Mr Glen met Mr Carroll and his two friends, Stephen McLaggan and John Bonner, outside Asda.

The witness said: "He came over to me, he was talking to me, I can't remember all the stuff he was asking me about, basically 'You're working for me now, anybody that doesn't fall in line is going to get banged'."

Mr Glen said he understood that "get banged" meant "shot".

The court heard that when Mr Glen went back to his car after the meeting and began to leave he heard "bangs and cracks".

'People shooting'

He said: "I looked up, there was a motor parked in front of the the motor Gerbil was in, it was two people shooting at it."

Mr Glen said the two people were firing into the car from either side when he drove off.

The witness said there was an outstanding warrant for him at the time and he changed his car after the incident.

He said he was "panicking" because he heard the police were looking for a person who had been speaking with Mr Carroll.

The jury heard he phoned police and offered to go in the following week to speak to them, but was arrested before he had the opportunity.

Under cross examination by Des Finnieston, Mr Glen denied knowing anything about what was going to happen to Mr Carroll.

He told the court: "I'm not daft, I know how it looks, I know it didn't have anything to do with me but know how it looks."

Mr Finnieston put to him it was a "coincidence" and Mr Glen agreed.

'Lucky coincidence'

The defence lawyer continued: "A very lucky coincidence because it took care of a problem you had, having just been hired by Gerbil just seconds before this car just arrived and takes care of your problem, doesn't it?"

Mr Glen replied: "I wouldn't say it was lucky."

The court also heard from Mr Carroll's former partner, Kelly Green, 34, who said that on the day of the murder he was "normal" and "happy".

She said his friends John Bonner and Steven McLaggan picked him up and he said he was "nipping out for 10 minutes".

Ms Green said: "I got a message from him before this happened. It just said 'I love you' then I got a phone call from one of my family members saying Kevin had been shot."

She described Mr Carroll as a "loving partner and fantastic father".

Mr Paterson denies the charges and is incriminating six other people, including Mr Glen.

He has lodged a special defence of alibi claiming he was at an address in Cumbernauld on the day of the shooting.

The trial before judge Lord Armstrong continues.