Wolverhampton murder suspect tells court of events before nightclub shooting
A murder suspect has described in court the dramatic moments that led to a man being shot dead at a Bilston nightclub.
But Vincent Tony Ashman denied being the man who opened fire on Danny "Dannyman" McCalla at the Tropical Harmony club in November 2009, insisting it could not have been him as he did not take a gun into the venue. Giving evidence at Birmingham Crown Court Ashman told jurors he saw Mr McCalla in the club shortly before the shooting.
He said he was talking to Mark Mullins on the dance floor before they moved towards the fire exit as the music was too loud.
Ashman, aged 38, said: "I was talking to Mark and my phone vibrated. I was reading the text and it kicked off behind me.
"I heard a bang and saw a flash – the bang came from behind me, to my right."
In the commotion Ashman said he was struck on the head and fell forward, before getting up and running out of the club.
When shown a CCTV image appearing to show him with his arm aloft, Ashman insisted it was a mobile phone in his hand and not a gun, as prosecutor Rachel Brand QC had suggested.
"I didn't bring no gun inside the club. If I was carrying anything it would have been my phone," he said.
Of footage inside the venue Ashman said that his arm was pointing towards Mr McCalla purely in a "running" motion as he fled.
Two days after the shooting Ashman returned to his native Jamaica where he remained until he was arrested by police last July.
He said he left the UK due to rumours he was involved in the shooting and that those who shot McCalla were coming to "finish me off".
Ashman denies murdering Mr McCalla, from Dudley and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in July 2008.
The trial continues.
