Three men convicted of Paisley hit-and-run murder bid over drug deal gone wrong

Three men have been convicted of a hit-and-run murder bid in Paisley.

The victim was mowed down by a silver Toyota Yaris as he crossed the street in Springbank Road on April 21, 2022.

The then 37-year-old was targeted following an earlier dispute.

Stuart Lindsay, 31, David Sherry, 36, and Daniel Millan, 27, have now been convicted of attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow.

Prosecutors said the trio and two others had all acted together as part of a “coordinated plan to inflict violence” on the victim that evening.

The three were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in May.

Jurors heard how the Yaris and an Audi driven by Lindsay had gone to Paisley in convoy.

The victim was said to have been effectively lured to the scene.

He was seen speaking to the driver of the Audi moments before the attack.

It was then the Yaris “came out of nowhere” and ploughed into the man as he crossed the road.

In his closing speech, prosecutor Michael Macintosh told jurors: “[The victim] was sent up into the air. The Audi drove off so quickly that (a witness) thought it was that car which hit him.

“The Audi had driven off before [the victim] had even hit the ground, but it was the Yaris that struck him.”

The Yaris was then wiped and torched at Airlink Industrial Estate in Paisley.

Sherry had been clocked getting out of the car before it was set on fire, clutching a weapon.

The five-strong gang all then fled from the area in the Audi.

Lindsay was a friend of another of the mob, John Wallace, who has since died.

He claimed Wallace had got him involved under “false pretences”.

Mr Macintosh suggested that if Lindsay had no idea what was to happen that day, he may, at least, have stopped to check on the victim or called for help.

The advocate depute: “Instead, [the victim] had not even touched the ground and Mr Lindsay had sped off.”

Sherry admitted to being a passenger in the Yaris but claimed he was only aware of the collision when it actually happened.

Mr Macintosh put to the jury that Sherry would have them believe he had been “in a panic, desperate to get out the situation that he was in”.

The victim was left badly hurt but survived.

Lindsay and Sherry were found guilty of the charge after a trial. Millan had earlier pleaded guilty before the case began.

Lord Mulholland told the three: “You have been convicted of a horrific attempted murder – a car driven at someone to try and kill him all because of a drug deal gone wrong.

“Be under no illusion, it will be a lengthy sentence for all of you.”