A MAN who murdered a 20-year-old in North Glasgow after he met him to pay a drug debt has been jailed for life.

Robert Letham will spend a minimum of 22 years behind bars after knifing Steven Russell in Possilpark on February 10.

Letham, 32, even tried to evade justice by fleeing the country.

Today, the killer was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after being found guilty of murder.

Letham fatally wounded Mr Russell, who was known as Steph, after arranging to meet him to pay a drug debt.

He carried out the assault in front of a number of witnesses and inflicted a fatal wound with a knife he had hidden up his sleeve.

The murder investigation into Mr Russell's death was launched immediately after he was found seriously injured outside a house on Bardowie Street. The knife-attack happened in broad daylight at around 3.45pm.

The Possilpark man, from Closeburn Street, was rushed by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary but he died of his wounds later that day.

Three days later, he boarded a bus for London then travelled to Bridgwater in Somerset in an attempt to evade justice.

He was arrested in Somerset on February 23. Police had traced him after he tried to collect benefits from a local Department of Work and Pensions office.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service issued a statement after the sentence and warned they will continue to prosecute those responsible for knife crime.

Nicky Patrick, Procurator Fiscal for Homicide and Major Crime, said: “Robert Letham chose to take a knife with him onto the street with the intention of doing serious harm and ended up taking a life.

“Showing no remorse for his actions, he then left the country and tried to escape justice.

“The use of blades as weapons is completely unacceptable, leading inevitably to tragic deaths and ruined lives. We will continue to do our utmost to prosecute those who are responsible for violence and knife crime.”

The community of Possilpark were shocked by the attack including Mr Russell's heartbroken girlfriend Morgan Barr who changed her profile picture on the social media website Facebook to a snap of her with Steven.

Well-wishers also raised funds for the popular young man's funeral.