Commancheros chief calls for talks to end feud, 26 March, 2009.
Comancheros chief calls for talks to end feud
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 26 Mar 2009: 3.
Abstract
As Mr Field was remanded in custody until April 15 by Magistrate John Burns, Mr [Mick Hawi] called for peace talks with other bikie gangs after the Comancheros' feud with the Hells Angels exploded into a deadly brawl at Sydney Airport on Sunday.
Ms [Lesly Randle] said her client had "invited persons of influence" to a peace meeting as Derek Wainohu, theHells Angels leader on the Qantas flight from Melbourne to Sydney on Sunday that preceded the brawl, was yesterday suspended from his senior position at the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority.
Ms Randle spoke outside Sydney Central Court after a magistrate refused to release on bail four men charged over that brawl, which ended with 29-year-old Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas being bludgeoned to death at Sydney airport on Sunday.
Full Text
THE Comancheros yesterday banned the wearing of club colours and the riding of motorcycles in a bid to damp down the deadly bikie violence that has gripped the eastern seaboard.
The stand-down order from Sydney Comanchero president Mick Hawi followed the revelation that one of thevictims of a double homicide in Canberra was a former Rebels leader in Perth.
Russell Field, 20, was charged in the ACT Magistrates Court yesterday with the murder on Tuesday of Rick Roberts, 57, and an unnamed 48-year-old man in the southern Canberra suburb of Chisholm.
As Mr Field was remanded in custody until April 15 by Magistrate John Burns, Mr Hawi called for peace talks with other bikie gangs after the Comancheros' feud with the Hells Angels exploded into a deadly brawl at Sydney Airport on Sunday.
In a statement released in Sydney by his lawyer Lesly Randle, Mr Hawi said that in response to public concerns he had ordered his members to stop wearing their club colours or riding their bikes until a peace deal was struck.
Ms Randle said her client had "invited persons of influence" to a peace meeting as Derek Wainohu, the Hells Angels leader on the Qantas flight from Melbourne to Sydney on Sunday that preceded the brawl, was yesterday suspended from his senior position at the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority.
Ms Randle spoke outside Sydney Central Court after a magistrate refused to release on bail four men charged over that brawl, which ended with 29-year-old Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas being bludgeoned to death at Sydney airport on Sunday.
Despite argument from their lawyer John Korn that there was no evidence or CCTV footage implicating his clients, Magistrate Allan Moore refused their application for bail.
Ismail Erden, 26, of Kingsford, Maher Aouli, 28, of Casula, Pomare Pirini, 21, of Georges Hall, and Zoran Kisacanin, 22, of Ingleburn, have been in custody since being charged with one count of affray over the clash.
Mr Korn said they would make a fresh bail application.
Members of the Rebels, the Comancheros and Hells Angels told The Australian they had a policy of not talking to the media.
"I will get shot if I talk
to you," one of them said.
It was revealed yesterday that two days before he was killed Zervas had stabbed an off-duty police officer, leaving him with serious knife wounds. The brother of a Hells Angels leader argued with the police officer at a block of flats in the Sydney beachside suburb of Brighton-le-Sands.
An associate of Mr Zervas, Michael Xippas, who was allegedly at the scene also appeared in court charged with failing to report a serious crime. He was refused bail.
Speaking to reporters outside the Canberra court, Mr Field's solicitor, Ben Aulich, said his client should be placed in protective custody.
Credit: John Stapleton, Mark Dodd, Additional reporting: Michael Pelly, Natalie O'Brien