'Gerbil' Killer Appeals Conviction

A hitman found guilty of murdering gangland figure Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll is appealing his conviction.

William Paterson, 35, was found convicted of gunning down the 29-year-old in the car park of Asda, Robroyston on January 13, 2010.

His lawyer Phil McWilliams advised that a notice of intention to appeal against Paterson's conviction had been lodged.

The appeals department in Edinburgh also confirmed that this had been received.

Paterson denied murdering Carroll, 29, by gunning him down at the supermarket car park.

He claimed he was at his girlfriend Sarah Maguire's house in Linn Gardens, Cumbernauld at the time of the shooting but the jury rejected his alibi.

He was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering Carroll, while acting with others, and of a number of firearms charges.

Sentencing Paterson to a minimum of 22 years judge Lord Armstrong described the brutal murder as an "execution in a public car park".

The trial heard Paterson's DNA was discovered on the handle of a Tesco bag that a gun used to assassinate Carroll was found in.

And a phone expert showed that a mobile belonging to Paterson was traced to the car park Asda seconds before the fatal shooting.

A phone call made to the phone at the crucial time placed him at the scene and was a "breakthrough" in the police investigation.

He is the first person to be convicted of murder charge after the trial of Ross Monaghan collapsed due to a lack of evidence in 2012.