Kokomo’s brawler lives in fear after bikie boss murdered, court told

news, crime, kokomo’s, ACT Magistrates Court, Pitasoni Ulavalu, comanchero, comancheros

A man who was effectively confined to his home after brawling with bikies hopes he can one day walk to the shops without fearing he will be shot by gangsters seeking to avenge their leader’s murder. That is what the ACT Magistrates Court heard last month, as the man was convicted of common assault over a now infamous incident at Civic nightclub Kokomo’s. Special magistrate Margaret Hunter, who sentenced the man to a six-month good behaviour order, directed that the offender’s name not be published for nine months. She also suppressed any details of the man’s latest court appearance for 14 days; a period that has now lapsed. This offender was the sixth and final man to learn his fate over the brawl, during which his friend Frederick Tuifua, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail, murdered Canberra Comanchero commander Pitasoni Ulavalu by stabbing the bikie boss in the neck. Four others pleaded guilty to affray and received partially suspended jail sentences, but this brawler denied that charge and was set to contest it at a hearing on February 14. His lawyers instead reached a compromise with prosecutor Luke Crocker, who agreed to discontinue the affray allegation if the man pleaded guilty to common assault. The offender, aged in his 20s, did that, admitting he had punched Comanchero bikie Zachary Robb three times during what Ms Hunter described as “a melee” at the nightclub in July 2020. During the man’s sentence hearing, the court viewed CCTV footage of the incident. His barrister said the man had gone to Kokomo’s “to enjoy the evening”, not because the offender and his friends were “rough heads just out looking for trouble”. He said things “got way out of hand” after a bikie sitting with other outlaw motorcycle gang members at a nearby table took a bag belonging to one of the offender’s friends. As a result, a brawl erupted between the defendant’s group and, as Ms Hunter described them, “the motorcycle people”. The offender had only decided to involve himself to protect the others in his group, the barrister said, tendering a letter to this effect from the defendant. “My only intention was to protect my friends,” the brawler wrote in his letter, in which he also apologised and acknowledged he had gone too far by punching Mr Robb repeatedly. Mr Crocker argued Ms Hunter should not find that the man had acted in excessive defence of others, saying the CCTV showed the offender engaging in “a gratuitous, violent act” by punching Mr Robb while the bikie was defenceless on the floor during the brawl. The prosecutor told the court the man’s punches had been directed at Mr Robb’s head. Mr Crocker ultimately asked Ms Hunter to sentence the offender, who spent 59 days behind bars on remand following his arrest, to time served. The offender’s barrister argued against this, saying a jail sentence was not warranted. He added that the man had basically lived under house arrest, with his parents, for more than 16 months after being granted bail. “My client has had to put his life on hold because of this [case],” the barrister said. “Effectively, he’s been sitting on his backside at his home, for 16 months, waiting for this matter to be resolved.” The lawyer also said the man believed his safety was in jeopardy because members of his family had been threatened and one of the other brawlers, Maximilian Budack, had been shot in the face in a suspected reprisal attack. He said it would not be exaggerating the continuing threat to say the offender hoped to one day “walk down to the local shop … and feel that somebody’s not going to shoot him”. The barrister applied for permanent suppression of the man’s name, but Mr Crocker argued against this on the basis there was evidence the Comanchero bikie gang already knew who the offender was. As she ultimately convicted the offender and imposed the six-month good behaviour order, Ms Hunter said media would be able to identify the man in November. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

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