Ranjit Nankani sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Gary Johnson

Today,  Monday 16 August, Ranjit Nankani has been sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 18 years, after being found guilty of the murder of Gary Johnson.

Gary Johnson, 25, was run over and killed outside the Ministry of Sound nightclub on 31 August 2009 when, following an argument Nankani drove his vehicle at speed, hitting Gary and killing him instantly.

Ranjit Nankani, 30, of Brampton Road, Croydon, was found guilty of his murder on Friday 13 August.

Another man, Dwayne McPherson, 28, of Sydenham Park, SE26 who was also caught up in the feud and fired his gun at the car which killed Gary, was found guilty of the attempted murder of Ranjit Nankani on Friday 13 August. McPherson was also convicted of possession of a firearm and will be sentenced on Friday 10 September.

McPherson and Nankani, despite being involved on opposite sides of the feud, have both been tried at the same time. These unusual circumstances have meant that both men have been on trial in the same court room.

The argument between the men began on Sunday 30 August 2009, when Ranjit Nankani and two friends went to the Ministry of Sound nightclub in Gaunt Street, Southwark. Nankani drove to the club in his Mitsubishi Shogun and arrived at the club at approximately midnight.

On the same evening Gary was also in the Ministry of Sound nightclub with two friends, one of whom was Dwayne McPherson. During the course of the evening Nankani became involved in an argument with Gary and his friends after he stood on one of their feet. The argument escalated and security staff intervened to remove both parties from the club.

Once outside, the argument took a violent turn as Nankani got into his car with his two friends and drove the Mitsubishi Shogun, mounting the pavement and accelerating at high speed, towards McPherson and Gary. McPherson managed to get out of the way of the speeding car, however Gary was hit and died instantly from serious head injuries.

Nankani continued driving and collided with a parked car.

McPherson then fired four shots at close range into the car, hitting Nankani in the shoulder. Nankani’s two friends were uninjured. They all got out of the car and left the scene separately.

Later that night, at approximately 04:40hrs, the injured Nankani approached two police officers in the New Kent Road and told them he had been shot. He was then taken to hospital, where officers linked his injuries to the earlier incident at the Ministry of Sound and the death of Gary Johnson.

An investigation was undertaken by officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command (HSCC), and Nankani was arrested for Gary’s murder on 1 September 2009. McPherson was arrested on 10 September 2009 for the attempted murder of Ranjit Nankani.

Detective Chief Inspector, Mark Dunne, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: "It is hard to believe that these men, who came out to enjoy an evening with their friends, managed to turn the evening into such a violent and tragic sequence of events.

"There were large amounts of people outside the club at the time that witnessed the horrific death of Gary Johnson and they must have been terrified to hear and see the gun shots.

"Due to a petty argument, these men made choices that have changed their lives forever and a man has tragically lost his life. Today’s sentencing is a result of a tireless investigation and assistance of some very brave witnesses who have helped us find justice for Gary’s family."