TWO men are starting life sentences today for the murder of a North-East man who 'taxed' one of their drug dealers.
Richard Petty, 34, from Billingham, was stabbed to death for the sake of £80 Teesside Crown Court heard.
Mark Pearson and Joseph Tingle will serve a mimimum of 18 years for the murder after a judge told them "drug warfare" would not be tolerated.
Pearson stabbed former convict Mr Petty eight times in the lounge of the flat he shared in Melsonby Court, Billingham, near Stockton, on the afternoon of March 25.
A day earlier, Mr Petty had "taxed" £80 from Mark Fairweather - a street dealer who sold heroin around his neighbourhood for friends Pearson and Tingle.
Pearson, 28, of High Street, Redcar, admitted murder, while Tingle, 23, of St James House, Stockton, denied the charge but was convicted.
Full story in tomorrow's Northern Echo
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