DIED IN AUSTRALIA’S MILPERRA MASSACRE
restore the sense of belonging he missed from the services.
He ruled the gang like a private army. A swastika in the corner, there were military drills and lines of command.
Jock was manipulative, violent and domineering. Ironically, it was Jock’s most loyal follower, Anthony Spencer, who eventually shook his power base.
Nicknamed Snoddy, the orphaned social misfit had been like a son to Jock but in 1983, after a trip to the US, he was asked to form Australia’s first branch of the Bandidos.
They were in a different criminal class to the Comancheros. They dealt drugs and their ex-president was convicted of murder.
Snoddy’s betrayal sparked a feud which culminated in the Milperra massacre.
The battle took place at a supposedly friendly bike meet. The Comancheros were armed with pump-action shotguns, machetes and baseball bats.
That day, Jock organised his men in a “bullhorn” ambush and gave them walkie-talkies. The plan was to let the Bandidos see Jock alone, while his men would be hidden in strategic positions.
But the enemy arrived so late that the Comancheros thought their rivals weren’t coming and took to the bar. The Bandidos came prepared. They had armed themselves for a battle and within minutes, the gunfire began.
Women and children ran for cover as a Comanchero fired the first shot.
The battle was as wild as it was swift. Leanne Walters, 15, was shot and died instantly. Jock was shot in the chest and in the left side of his head.
Four Comancheros and two Bandidos died. Jock was one of 43 men charged with six counts of murder, later reduced to manslaughter. He served five years in jail.
Snoddy hanged himself in prison after blaming himself for the massacre.
In an interview last year with Australia’s 60 Minutes, Jock was asked what the battle had been about. “Nothing,” he answered. “Pride?” He left the bike gang in 2003 and has worked as a fire captain for 20 years.
Jock is still domineering and still married to Ness, who he wed in 1978.
He remains bullish about Milperra, blaming the other side for kicking off the battle. Asked if he would change anything, Jock says reluctantly that he wouldn’t have gone to Milperra.
He said: “If I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have been shot.”