Bikie cases fizzling out
WHAT started as a terrifying and outrageous example of bikie thuggery on the Gold Coast has ended with little fanfare in Brisbane as 20 Bandidos arrested for mass riot had their day in court this week.
And depending on who you listen to, the majority of the former bikie brothers have either been dragged through an expensive and botched prosecution stymied by political interference at the highest level or are entirely responsible for bringing the wrath of the state upon themselves by choosing to stride around the streets on a mission of violence.
One after another the men, nearly all with a shared love of copious tattoos, filed through the Brisbane Magistrates Court with varying stories of involvement in the mass fight that erupted during peak dinner time service in Broadbeach in September 2013 and led to a radical overhaul of criminal laws in Queensland.
While some donned suits and spoke of now earning $3000 a week, others apparently couldn’t even find a pair of socks to wear and called out expletives from the back of court as prosecutor Jeff Hunter, QC, read out the facts.
Obvious to all was how the case had changed since Mr Hunter was brought in by the DPP to take over the matter recently.
With a different state government in power and the failed prosecution of long-term Bandido Peter Mauric for riot in May, suddenly charges were downgraded and long trials were changed to short sentencing submissions.
While ringleader Jacques Teamo and his back-up boys Ahmed Kaddour and Adam White still face jail terms for rioting, others escaped conviction when the prosecution offered no evidence against them this week – nearly two years after the event.
The vast majority pleaded guilty to downgraded charges of public nuisance and affray and will most likely get a fine or good behaviour bond.
One after another the court was told the men had distanced themselves from the gang. Some said they merely thought they were out for a night of clubbing and had never heard of Jason Trouchet – the man who Teamo went in search of and then challenged to a fight.
Either way they either participated or watched on as punches were traded and police were confronted with a volatile bunch of angry men making demands, puffing up their chests, clenching fists and threatening to kill.
For the next 18 months police prosecutors on the Gold Coast had their “hands tied”, the court was told, and refused to negotiate on charges for even the most minor players.
Orders from above were cited and some, such as courier businessman and father-offour Dion Wallace was at first denied bail and lost his company just being in the vicinity.
Others like Jonathan Casiotis told the court they handed themselves in but still were locked in the watch-house for longer than usual and had since amassed a $40,000 legal bill for a case that went nowhere.
Magistrate Michael Quinn will now take three weeks to consider sentences for all men as well as a highly contentious cost application by four who argued the prosecution had been so badly managed they should have legal fees paid back.