Andrew Monarch denied plotting to kill Mark Sayer retrail

Retrial could be held in September, but it is thought it will be moved from Teesside Crown Court to another court.Mr Monarch denied plotting to kill Mark Sayer, who was shot on the doorstep of his home in east Cleveland in 1996Four men were jailed over his death the following year, but Mr Monarch moved to Spain shortly after the shooting.The three-week trial has heard that Mr Monarch lived in Spain under a false passport until he was extradited last year.During the trial, the prosecution said Mr Monarch fled the UK because he was part of the plan to kill 22-year-old Mr Sayer.Mr Monarch, formerly of Whorlton Grove, Redcar, said he left because his father was about to emigrate and his mother was buying a house in Spain.
He told the jury that he returned because he feared for the safety of his family after threats were said to have been made against them.Mr Monarch admitted knowing the man who arranged the death of Mr Sayer at his home in Dormanstown, near Redcar, on September 1, 1996.It was said the killing was organised after Middlesbrough drug dealer Zarin "Boris" Sherrif had a stash of cannabis stolen from a safe house.
The prosecution said Mr Monarch helped the gunman and his getaway driver hide in a hotel on the night of the shooting, and paid them £5,000 the following day.
The defence team argued that the man seen by witnesses at the hotel was 6ft with curly blond hair while Mr Monarch is 5ft 7in with short, dark hair.
It was also denied by the defence that a pager closely linked to the plot, to which messages about the murder were sent, had anything to do with Mr Monarch