Two men who shot each other outside a Birmingham nightclub have been jailed. Aaron Nubie, 47, and Kimani Durrell-Smith, 28, exchanged gunfire outside FJ Lounge in Aston, Birmingham, on March 23 last year, with an innocent food seller also struck.
Shooting caught on CCTV
The incident was captured on CCTV. Nubie returned to the venue intending to "put right the disrespect" he believed he had been subjected to, Judge Andrew Smith KC said in court. Durrell-Smith, from Erdington, went to buy food outside the club when Nubie approached him with a gun.
Judge Smith said the violence was not "significantly premeditated" but neither was it spontaneous. Durrell-Smith pulled out his gun when he saw Nubie, and both men opened fire within a fraction of a second of each other.
Innocent food seller injured
Garth Pantry, a food seller at the venue, was hit in the shoulder by a bullet that passed through Durrell-Smith's shoulder. He was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery for a partial collapse to his lungs. In a victim impact statement, Pantry said he had been left traumatised, with difficulty sleeping and unable to work.
Nubie was shot in the neck and hand and required treatment, while Durrell-Smith did not attend hospital despite his gunshot wound.
Court proceedings and sentences
Representing himself in court, Nubie said: "It was a form of self-defence. I felt like I had a right to do it because my life was at stake at the situation." He said he had known Pantry for many years and insisted he meant no harm to him. Nubie, from Stockland Green, said he had experienced gang culture and organised crime in the past, leaving him with post traumatic stress disorder and fearing he would lose his life to gun crime.
Both defendants were found guilty of two offences of wounding with intent, while each admitted possessing a prohibited firearm. They were handed extended sentences of 15 years in custody with extended three-year licence periods at Birmingham Crown Court on October 22.
Judge Smith said: "You didn't know one another but you had something in common. Each of you, as you accept, were in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun. Each of you carried your firearm in a readily accessible way and, as events were to unfold, did not hesitate to use your lethal, illegal weapons."
A West Midlands Police spokesperson added: "We responded immediately, launched a major investigation, caught them, and they’re now starting prison sentences. We’re working relentlessly every day to tackle violent crime and take guns off the streets of the West Midlands."
