A teenager accused of murdering a known drug dealer with a homemade ‘slam-gun’ had been looking up how to make them online weeks before the fatal shooting, a trial heard.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accepts that he was responsible for the death of Alan Garbutt but maintains it was an accident.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the teenager was selling drugs out of the 62-year-old’s flat and had allegedly held a gun to his head in the weeks leading up to his death.

Mr Garbutt’s daughter, Adele, admitted that she and her father had been dealing crack cocaine and heroin in Guisborough using a ‘graft phone’ to set up deals.

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Giving evidence, Ms Garbutt said her father had been ‘bullied’ into dealing by the teenager while he was living in his flat at Helmsley House in Guisborough.

The Northern Echo: Alan GarbuttAlan Garbutt

When asked whether she had heard about any incidents involving weapons in the house, she said: “Dad had a mark on his forehead. The accused said to me 'what would you do if I said to you, you owed me a grand?' Then he indicated to my dad 'that silly old b******, I had a gun to his head and he said he’d pay me'."

Under cross examination from defence barrister, Pater Makepeace KC, Ms Garbutt confirmed that her father and his brother, Brian, had been dealing Class A drugs to young people in the town for a number of years.

He asked: “Did you think it would make sense to blame all of this on the teenager?” The witness replied: “No.”

The court heard how the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shot Mr Garbutt once to the chest before fleeing the scene and hiding the dismantled homemade ‘slam-gun’ in a nearby field.

The Northern Echo: Police at the scene of the alleged murder.Police at the scene of the alleged murder.

Another witness, Dean Bousfield, told jurors that the defendant had shown him a Glock pistol that he kept hidden in a tool box as well as asking him about how to make a ‘slam-gun’.

Under cross examination, the witness denied making up the story under pressure from members of Mr Garbutt’s family.

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Mr Makepeace asked: “Did they tell you what to say to the police?” MR Bousfield simply replied: “No.”

The 62-year-old, from East Cleveland, died following the fatal shooting at Helmsley House, Guisborough, last summer.

Fire crews and ambulance crews also attended the block of flats at Helmsley House in Guisborough, from around 2.20am on August 8, where the body of Mr Garbutt was discovered.

The trial continues.