Wolverhampton nightclub killer hunted down in Jamaica

Touching down in the sun-kissed surroundings of Montego Bay, ruthless killer Vincent Tony Ashman would have believed he was home and dry.

Just three days earlier, he had blasted Danny "Dannyman" McCalla dead, shooting him in the head, chest, shoulder, arm and thigh with a 9mm handgun.

Within hours of the killing on the dancefloor of Bilston's Tropical Harmony nightclub, Ashman had packed his bags and was booking a flight to his native Jamaica.

The brazen killer used his own details to secure his travel arrangements and fly from Manchester Airport two days after the shooting, despite the fact that he was the prime suspect in the murder of father-of-three Mr McCalla.

He spent almost two-and-a-half years in Jamaica, but the 38-year-old was today facing a lifelong jail term after detectives worked tirelessly to return him to the UK and bring him to justice.

Mr McCalla, aged 50, was gunned down among revellers at Tropical Harmony and as he fell to the floor, was pursued by Ashman, who then fired more shots at him.

The victim, who had previously worked as a mechanic and lived in Dudley, was blasted six times in total, suffering injuries so severe that doctors at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton could not save him.

During Ashman's trial at Birmingham Crown Court, jurors were told that bad feeling had been growing between the pair, who knew each other from the local club scene around the Black Country. Mr McCalla had believed Ashman was responsible for a burglary at his home six months before the shooting.

But in the early hours of November 21, 2009, the feud between the two men escalated to devastating proportions.

After spending the earlier part of the evening at Bar NV in Bradford Street, Walsall, Mr McCalla and two of his friends moved on to Tropical Harmony a few miles down the road.

Ashman, a father of seven who repaired and sold cars for a living, had been in the High Street-based nightclub earlier in the night playing pool, before going over to Bar NV with three men, arriving back at Tropical Harmony at the same time as Mr McCalla.

CCTV footage from the nightclub showed Ashman and his victim arriving at the nightclub almost at the same time as each other, making their way through the doors among a group of revellers.

Further images from inside the nightclub showed Ashman on the dancefloor, drinking from a bottle, dancing and briefly talking to the DJ.

Later, a friend of Mr McCalla was seen to approach Ashman and the two then walked towards the back of the venue, out of the view of CCTV?cameras.

Just seconds later, Mr McCalla was then seen on the CCTV?footage walking towards the pair, oblivious to the fact that Ashman was carrying a loaded handgun.

Crucially, nightclub owner Michael Chambers, who recognised the two men as regulars in his venue and knew Ashman by the nicknames Chops and Chopper, was also in that area of the nightclub when trouble flared.

He told jurors that he saw Mr McCalla beat Ashman with an extendable baton and a bottle.

He then saw Ashman blast his victim to the floor with the murder weapon.

Amazingly, when the defendant took the stand to give evidence in his defence, he claimed that Mr Chambers had made a mistake in what he saw and that what he had been seen carrying was in fact an extendable mobile phone and not a firearm.

But in returning their verdicts, the jury rejected that claim.

After the shooting, Ashman walked away from the nightclub. He abandoned his Seat Leon car in nearby Smith Street. Police discovered his blood, believed to have been as a result of the beating he took from Mr McCalla, between the venue and the car.

Tony Ashman leaves Tropical Harmony after the murder of Danny McCalla

Speaking to the Express & Star after the case, detectives said a major investigation was launched immediately after the shooting and that Ashman had become the prime suspect very early on in the investigation.

Officers circulated his details nationally to help ensure he did not flee the country.

Det Sgt Mike Griffiths, who was part of a team of about 100 officers who helped bring Ashman to justice, said: "He became a suspect very early on from eyewitness testimony at the club.

"We were satisfied he was the main man responsible for the shooting. It was very early on in the inquiry that he was identified and as such, because of the nature of the offence, his details were circulated nationally for his whereabouts."

Det Con Andy Fleming added: "As he was a foreign national and involved in something like this, we were always alive to the fact that someone in that situation would be likely to abscond.

"We put measures in place in terms of circulating his details to try and apprehend him before he left our borders, but we became aware on November 24 that he had absconded the day before.

"He bought his ticket from a travel agent in Manchester, paid cash and left the country."

Ashman booked his flight to Jamaica after trying to persuade his girlfriend to move in with his wife because he believed she would not be safe.

He was then able to board a plane and fly to Montego Bay without being stopped by the authorities.

For detectives investigating the murder of Mr McCalla, their priority was locating Ashman and bringing him back to the UK as soon as possible to be prosecuted. "The reality is we have quite a close working relationship with the Jamaican authorities and straight away, inquiries were put in place to try and locate where he was," said Dc Fleming.

Officers were able to track Ashman down to the Jamaican capital Kingston, where he was staying with family. He was arrested and extradition proceedings were started, with Ashman eventually returned to England in July last year, almost two-and-a-half years after he fled.

Political issues in the country had caused the delay in him being extradited.

As the lengthy process was going on, detectives were preparing their case against Ashman never really knowing what he would say about the night in question.

Their inquiries included scouring CCTV images from the notorious nightclub.

Footage from the night, released for the first time this afternoon, shows Ashman walking away from the Tropical Harmony nightclub moments after the fatal shooting. Dozens of other revellers who had been inside at the time rush past him as they desperately flee the scene.

Amid the general panic, Ashman appears from the doorway, walking casually away.

Police, in releasing the footage today, commented on his apparent nonchalance and calmness despite having murdered Mr McCalla just seconds before.

Det Sgt Griffiths said: "Ashman has got an absolute disregard for the safety of anyone. This man ruthlessly shot dead, at point blank range, Mr McCalla.

"We'd like to pay tribute to the witnesses that have explained to the court what they saw and what they heard on that night.

"Ashman said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time in the case of Mr McCalla.

"He has not shown any remorse at all." Tropical Harmony had its licence revoked by Wolverhampton City Council following the fatal shooting and it was boarded up.

The venue was briefly brought back to life as a dance studio called Time?Step community hub in 2012 but it closed six months ago and remains vacant.

Bilston councillor Bert Turner said: "I'm just pleased it's drawn a line under a bad episode for Bilston.

"Members of the local authority were arguing about what to do to get the club under proper control, which was resolved when they took the licence away.

"It was a quite a traumatic experience for the town.

"It's about preserving the reputation of the town, we don't want to be associated with things like this.

"That's not what Bilston's all about."