Time’s up for bikie thugs
ON March 18, 2006, tensions finally boiled over between the Finks and Hells Angels in a public gang battle that is part of Gold Coast folklore.
Dubbed the Ballroom Blitz, what is arguably the biggest bikie punch-up set plans in motion that have resulted in outlaw motorcycle gangs being all but dismantled on the Coast.
Just after 10.30pm, about 40 members of the Finks descended on a kickboxing event at the Royal Pines Resort.
A large contingent of Hells Angels was already inside, watching the bouts.
What ensued was like a scene from the Wild West. Two groups of outlaws faced off, throwing jibes at each other, with innocent bystanders caught in the firing line.
Then bullets starting flying, followed by chairs, fists and knives. The kickboxing event took a back seat as the auditorium descended into chaos.
It took less than a minute for 1500 spectators to flee screaming from the room, leaving about 30 combatants trying to destroy each other.
Several people were seriously injured and others scarred for life. In total five men were shot or stabbed during the infamous brawl.
Although it has never been admitted, police believe the fracas was actually an attempt on the life of Christopher Wayne Hudson, a former Fink who had patched over to the Hells Angels and was trying to recruit other Finks members.
Hudson was shot twice, in the back and jaw, by Shane Scott Bowden.
Two other bikies were also shot and two more, including Adelaide man Ben Young, sustained stab wounds. In a separate incident two years later, Young died in Adelaide in what police described as an “execution-style’’ shooting outside his home.
At the height of the Ballroom Blitz, a Sydney teenager who was at the Royal Pines Resort just to watch the kickboxing was shot in the foot as he sheltered under a table.
Bowden at one time was one of the most wanted men in Queensland, on the run for a month before handing himself in to police. He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years jail for the attempt on Hudson’s life.
Bowden was also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Ryutara Matsumura. Known as Ray, Mr Matsumura was the kickboxing promoter who was knocked unconscious when he was caught up in the brawl.
Other Finks motorcycle gang members – Ross Glen Thomas, 32, of Alice Springs, and Benjamin Allan Young, 24, of Adelaide – were charged with affray.
Terry Ian Polley, 44, of Adelaide, an alleged member of the Hells Angels, faced charges including unlawful wounding and discharging a firearm.
Tyson James Ward, 28, also of Adelaide, who was an alleged associate of the Finks, was also charged with affray.
Hudson is serving a 35-year sentence for murder and attempted murder in Victoria. On June 18, 2007, Hudson was trying to drag stripper Kaera Douglas out of a taxi when two men intervened. Hudson pulled a gun and shot solicitor and father of three Brendan Keilar dead, and wounded Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard.
ROBINA SHOOTING CHILDREN fled and shoppers ducked for cover as the sound of gunshots rang out on a busy Saturday at Robina Town Centre.
About 1.45pm on April 28, 2012, an argument broke out between two bitter rivals, Mongol bikie Mark James Graham and a then senior Bandido figure, Jacques Teamo.
Witnesses said they saw two muscular and heavily tattooed men with bum bags shouting and “puffing up” for a fight.
Four minutes later, two gunshots rang out through the packed centre. Teamo was shot in the arm and an innocent bystander, Kathy Devitt, was shot in the hip.
Graham was charged with the attempted murder of Teamo and the unlawful wounding of Ms Devitt.
During Graham’s trial in 2014, Ms Devitt told the court: “I saw a small shiny gun, that’s basically it. I heard the pop sound.”
She had felt pain immediately in the back of her right hip and put her hand there.
“When I lifted my hand was covered in blood.”
She went to the closest shop, a mobile phone store, and called out: “Could someone please call an ambulance, I think I’ve been shot.”
Graham simply walked out of the centre. He was arrested by police in Melbourne two days after the shooting.
The incident prompted Police Union president Ian Leavers to say they’d lost control of the streets and a bikie bloodbath was inevitable. it
‘‘If bikies are willing to shoot people in crowded shopping precincts, then any innocent person could be at risk from a stray bullet,’’ he warned.
‘‘There is a real fear that in the ensuing bikie bloodbath that may erupt on the Gold Coast, many innocent lives will be lost and many people unrelated to organised crime will be murdered in the crossfire.’’
During his trial, Graham said Teamo had threatened him with a knife and he acted in self defence.
The jury found him guilty on both counts. Graham was sentenced to 12 years in jail, having to serve 80 per cent of the sentence.
BROADBEACH BRAWL THE brawl that sparked the toughest anti-bikie laws in the country saw upwards of 70 Bandidos, Finks and associates punching on in Broadbeach.
The wild fight erupted outside the Aura lounge bar in September 2013, sending diners fleeing in terror as enraged bikies threatened and shouted obscenities at police.
Police feared for their lives. Restaurant staff grabbed knives and forks off tables in case they were used as weapons, and locked patrons inside.
What was at first thought to be the start of a new bikie war that would tear up the Glitter Strip turned out to be a personal grudge between Jacques Teamo and Jason Trouchet.
Teamo began dating a former girlfriend of Trouchet, who was a long-time friend of Finks terror team member Nick “The Knife” Forbes.
It was alleged Teamo led a “lynch mob” of Bandidos into the dining precinct to confront Trouchet, following a number of previous flares-ups between the pair.
Trouchet threw the first punch, fearing he was about to end up “in a coffin”. The wild brawl was so serious police considered drawing their guns.
Trouchet was confronted by what has been described as a “wall” of Bandidos led by Teamo.
The fight led to a huge police response, with dozens of officers swarming the area and arresting a number of Bandidos.
The bikies then went to Southport Police Station, almost starting another riot as they demanded the release of fellow gang members who had been arrested.
The Newman Government saw the Broadbeach brawl as the final straw, introducing the controversial VLAD legislation to smash the outlaw gangs. The laws were later watered down by the Palaszczuk Government.
Two years after the brawl, in August 2015, 18 “former” Bandidos pleaded guilty to charges including riot, affray, public nuisance, assault and obstructing police. Rioting carries a maximum penalty of three years’ jail.
But they all walked free from court, smiling and laughing after being handed fully suspended jail sentences, fines and in one case a good behaviour bond. Outside court, Teamo said the prosecution was a “complete waste of time and taxpayers’ money”.
TROUCHET THREW THE FIRST PUNCH, FEARING HE WAS ABOUT TO END UP ‘IN A COFFIN’. THE WILD BRAWL WAS SO SERIOUS POLICE CONSIDERED DRAWING THEIR GUNS.