Man guilty over Ministry of Sound row murder
A man who ran over a clubber following a row at the Ministry of Sound nightclub has been found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.
Gary Johnson, 25, was killed instantly when Ranjit Nankani's car mounted the pavement and hit him in Elephant and Castle, south London, in August 2009.
Nankani, 30, of Croydon, was then shot by the victim's 28-year-old friend Dwayne McPherson.
McPherson, of Sydenham, was found guilty of attempted murder.
As the verdicts were announced, Nankani said: "Oh God, Jesus no, I didn't know he was there.
"How could you do this to me? I didn't kill that guy, I didn't know."
In a statement, Mr Johnson's mother Joyce said: "He was 25-years-old at the time of his death and had his whole life in front of him.
"Gary to me will always be my baby and I miss him so very much so that there are no words to describe losing him in this way."
Earlier in the trial, the jury was told how a row in the nightclub on Gaunt Street ended with Nankani and his friends being thrown out.
Later, when Mr Johnson and McPherson left the club, Nankani was waiting in his Mitsubishi Shogun outside.
CCTV footage showed Mr Johnson walking outside "without a care in the world" before being hit by Nankani's car in a "staggering act of revenge", prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC said.
The victim was thrown into the air and carried along on the bonnet.
CCTV footage then showed McPherson run towards the car and fire four shots at the driver before running off.
Mr Jafferjee said: "It was McPherson's turn for revenge. He pulled out his gun and fired several rounds at Nankani."
One bullet struck Nankani.
The court was told Nankani's defence statement claimed he panicked after hearing shots and drove the car down the pavement while hiding under the steering wheel.
But Mr Jafferjee said Nankani's claim was "a demonstrably false and contrived account".
He said: "This case is about breathtaking lawlessness on the streets of London, where comparatively minor incidents inside a busy venue were responded to with murderous violence."