A 39-YEAR-OLD man accused of murdering a gay West Yorkshire car and drug dealer went on a spending spree totalling more than £25,000 in the weeks following the fatal shooting.
Simon Mullen, of South Shields, is alleged to have been the gunman who carried out the killing of 45-year-old Christopher Hartley after he was lured to a quiet country lay-by on the pretext of a drugs deal.
David Large, 35, of Rona Croft, Rothwell, is also on trial accused of murdering Mr Hartley who was his former business partner.
Mr Hartley – who lived in a five-bedroom detached house in Batley Road, Tingley – was shot in the head and chest last September and his body was later found by the side of his Jaguar car at isolated Litherop Lane in Clayton West last September.
The murder was allegedly planned so that Large, who previously had sexual relationships with Mr Hartley, could continue his new relationship with Dawn Mallinson from Netherton, near Wakefield.
Large, 35, who previously lived at Broadcroft Drive, Tingley, is alleged to have travelled to South Shields nine days after the murder for a meeting with Mullen.
A jury at Bradford Crown Court was yesterday given details of some of the purchases made by Mullen in the subsequent days.
Former rig worker Mullen – who was said to have been receiving benefits of about £128 per fortnight – bought a laptop computer for almost £800 and paid nearly £1,200 in cash for a training course.
On the same day he bought a music system worth £2,490 for his Mitsubishi Evo car and the following day he handed over £3,850 in cash for a 63ins Samsung television package.
The next day Mullen bought a 50ins Samsung television package costing almost £1,500 and later bought a Ford Transit van for £3,500.
The court heard that he also spent over £2,000 on a leather suite and £7,000 on repairs to his Evo vehicle.
Barrister Jason Pitter, for the prosecution, said the agreed spending by Mullen totalled £25,147.56.
Large and Mullen have both denied the murder charge.
The trial continues.
