Gunman is jailed for 30 years after Wolverhampton nightclub murder
A killer was today jailed for at least 30 years for shooting dead a father of three in a Bilston nightclub.
Vincent Tony Ashman shot Danny "Dannyman" McCalla six times at the Tropical Harmony club.
Jailing him for life at Birmingham Crown Court today, the judge told Ashman that the murder had caused untold suffering.
Ashman fled to Jamaica after the murder in November 2009 but was extradited to the UK last July.
Jurors heard that 50-year-old Mr McCalla of Dudley had hit Ashman with a baton when the pair were on the dance floor. Ashman retaliated with a 9mm pistol.
Mr Justice Popplewell said: "When you murdered "Dannyman" McCalla by gunning him down in a nightclub you not only took his life, you also caused untold and lasting suffering to his family. You added to the family's distress by pretending your innocence for over three years."
Mr McCalla's son Reuben today said justice had been done. He said when sentence was passed he "saw emotion and remorse from him for the first time."
He added: "It was never going to be an appropriate sentence for what he did, however, in legal terms it's the correct sentence.
"He was a good man, a good dad, a good friend, a good community person and an exceptional businessman."
The victim believed Ashman had burgled his home, resulting in bad feeling between the pair.
