Man behind Brass Handles shootings jailed

Date published: 21 May 2009

A 41-year-old man who went on the run for two years after a botched assassination attempt at the Brass Handles pub in Salford has been convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.

Robert Speirs  from Prestwich was today, Thursday 21 May 2009, sentenced to life in prison at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 23 years.

Speirs was extradited from Spain on 11 August 2008. He had been living there since he fled the country shortly after the murders in 2006.

At 2.20pm on Sunday 12 March 2006 Carlton Alveranga and Richard Austin, each believed to have been armed with a gun, walked into the Brass Handles Pub on Edgehill Close in Salford. They went into the 'Vault' where 27-year-old David Totton was sitting and opened fire, hitting him in the face and chest. 27-year-old Aaron Travers attempted to intervene and suffered gunshot wounds to his chest. Both men survived.

Carlton Alveranga's gun is believed to have misfired and a scuffle ensued during which he was disarmed by those inside the pub. Alveranga and Austin each sustained a gunshot wound to the chest before fleeing the pub. They ran outside and across a grass croft, where they collapsed and died from their injuries.

At the time of the incident Speirs was watching the Manchester United vs Newcastle United match at Old Trafford. However, when officers examined phone logs they found he had been in regular contact with Ian McLeod and Constance Howarth throughout.

Senior Investigating officer, Andy Tattersall, said: "Not only did Bobby Speirs plan this cold-blooded murder in a busy pub on a Sunday afternoon, he then fled the country to escape prosecution.

"Thanks to extensive inquiries and the assistance of Interpol and Spanish Police, Speirs has now been returned to the UK and held accountable for what he did.

"The murders Speirs and his associates planned that day did not happen, but two men still lost their lives. Alveranga and Austin were overpowered by those drinking in the pub. Someone inside the pub then fatally injured both men. This remains an open investigation and we are continuing to try and establish exactly who fired those fatal shots."

In March 2007 Constance Howarth (born 22/12/68) of Rosalind Court in Salford and Ian George McLeod (born 01/04/64) of Victoria Street in Radcliffe were both sentenced to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.

The Incident

The shooting was a botched assassination attempt that had been planned and agreed for some time. Ian McLeod, who ran IMAC Security in Radcliffe, was hired by Speirs to arrange the 'hit'. McLeod instructed Austin and Alveranga to carry out the shooting on his behalf.

Richard Austin was from Moss Side. He is known to have been friends with Carlton Alveranga who also lived in the Moss Side area. The two had been seen driving around together, along with Ian McLeod, in a dark-coloured Ford Mondeo in the months before the shooting. Austin is thought to have worked in some capacity at IMAC Security.

Speirs was a director of PMS Security. Constance Howarth worked for the firm and is known to have frequented the Brass Handles Pub once a week. She was inside the pub, guiding the men towards their target on the day of shooting.

At 2.20pm on Sunday 12 March 2006 Austin and Alveranga got out of a Ford Mondeo on Highfield Road. A witness told the police that the two men appeared reluctant and were being forced to get out of the car. They then made their way over the grassed area in front of the Brass Handles and into the Vault of the pub. Police believe they were both armed with pistols. With their faces partially concealed, they walked over to Totton and fired six shots at him. Alveranga's gun is believed to have misfired giving Travers the opportunity to overpower Alveranga.

It is believed that Alveranga's gun was subsequently wrestled from him by someone else in the pub, this person has never been identified. Austin and Alveranga were then shot with their own gun. After being shot, they fled outside, where they collapsed and died on the grass croft.

Totton and Travers were taken to Hope Hospital with gunshot wounds. Totton had been shot several times in the face and upper body. Travers had several gunshot wounds to his body. Both men survived and the bullets recovered from their bodies showed that the ammunition had come from the weapon that Austin had been using.