Hells Angels and Finks feud linked to fatal shooting at Custom Paint and Panel at Pooraka

  • Angry bikies arrive at Pooraka spraypainters after man fatally shot
     

  • Police examining link to molotov cocktail thrown into Parafield Gardens house and burnt-out car at Kangarilla
     

  • Adelaide's Bikie Underworld - special page

     

 

November 22 Newsbyte

Investigations into a Pooraka shooting murder, a Craigmore house fire and anti-pokies protest

 

 

 

 

 

 

0:00 / 0:56

IT TOOK just four days for a petty dispute between two of the South Australia's most feared outlaw bikie gangs to escalate into cold-blooded murder.

Four separate incidents, starting with a violent brawl at a kickboxing tournament in Findon on Saturday night, culminated in Wednesday's fatal shooting of a 33-year-old Finks associate, named as Jason De Ieso, at his Unique Custom Paint and Panel business in Pooraka.

The brutal killing came less than 24 hours after a Parafield Gardens home occupied by an associate of the Hells Angels north crew was firebombed.

Outraged police yesterday established a taskforce known as Operation Alpha, comprising 30 Major Crime and Crime Gangs detectives.

They described the fatal series of events as a "petty dispute" between the gangs.

Acting Commissioner Grant Stevens said police were investigating if the shooting was the latest chapter in a violent feud that stretches back 12 months.

 

Burnt-out car at Kangarilla

Police and firefighters at the scene of a burnt-out Mazda, which may be connected with fatal shooting in Pooraka. Picture: First On Scene Media

"It is widely known the Finks and the Hells Angels motorcycle gangs have been involved in a long-running feud ... we've had incidents over the last week where both of these groups have come together and we have seen offences occur as a result," he said. Murder and mayhem: Inside the

"We haven't ruled anything out at this point but we are absolutely certain it is (gang) related." Bikie sources have told The Advertiser  the murder resulted from a dispute between two bikie associates operating outside of traditional club rules.

The sources, who did not wish to be named, claim club leaders could no longer control many of the younger members who were "out of control" and committing violent crimes at will, bringing unwanted attention on the clubs.

"The young renegades do not recognise the club's traditional authority and regularly break rules previously used to maintain discipline within the groups ... you can't control them, they're out of control," one source said. Another said: "I can't imagine the wiser factions within these groups doing these things and bringing notice on to the clubs.

"It doesn't take a wise man to work out that ... it would be the young fellows. The old-school way (having discipline within the bikie clubs) was a lot different."

Bikie shooting at Pooraka

A policeman walks from the scene of the bikie shooting on Langford St, Pooraka. Picture: Campbell Brodie

Police believe the deadly chain of events began with a fight between Hells Angels and Finks at the Knees Of Fury kickboxing tournament on Saturday night.

Tuesday night's firebombing of a house on Rosecombe Place at Parafield Gardens led to angry scenes as the Hells Angels associate and other men stormed past uniformed police into the home.

The man lives in the home with his mother on bail, as he awaits sentence over a violent melee in which a New Boys gang member was stabbed at a busy shopping centre in 2010.

Shortly after 1pm on Wednesday, a group of men burst into the Lords Of Ink tattoo studio at Salisbury North and allegedly damaged property, in a brief attack which failed to draw the attention of neighbouring business owners.

About 30 minutes later, a group of armed men burst into the Pooraka spraypainting business and shot dead Mr De Ieso, who police say was a Finks associate.

Man shot at Pooraka

Langford St, Pooraka, where the man was shot.

Mr De Ieso's northeastern suburbs home appeared unoccupied yesterday, with metal shutters drawn down on all windows and four video cameras placed around the house.

A white Mazda sedan found burned out at Kangarilla on Wednesday night is believed to be linked to the murder and it is now being forensically tested.

Flanked by Crime Gangs boss John De Candia and Major Crime chief Grant Moyle in a press conference yesterday, Mr Stevens rejected claims that the latest violence was a result of a changing bikie culture.

"These people have been responsible for violent crime as long as there have been members of outlaw motorcycle gangs," he said.

"This is nothing new.

Tattoo parlour

The Lords of Ink tattoo parlour at Salisbury North which was trashed on the afternoon of the Pooraka shooting.

"The new people coming into these groups aren't the ones starting the violent activity, they are picking up a legacy that's been left by people who have been members of outlaw motorcycle gangs for a long time.

"What we did have was a deliberate shooting and we're extremely fortunate that more people weren't killed as a result of this incident.

"Major Crime detectives will be responsible for investigating the murder and the events leading up to it whilst the Crime Gangs Task Force members will concentrate on the disruption and the prevention of any further outlaw motorcycle gang-related violence associated with this incident."

CHRONOLOGY TO MURDER

1 - KICKBOXING BRAWL

A ringside fight between members of the Finks and Hells Angels at the Knees of Fury Thai kick-boxing event on Saturday night is believed to have been a catalyst for the latest deadly feud.

Shooting at Pooraka

Police at the scene of the shooting at Pooraka. Picture: Campbell Brodie

Two men were charged by the Crime Gangs Task Force following the fight at Adelaide Arena, Findon, about 7.30pm.

Fans of the sport have commented on its Facebook page that it was a night of "brutal" fights in the ring - 15 bouts in total including the return of Paul "The Sting" Slowinski to the Adelaide stage.

What sparked the ringside fight is not known, but police pursued some of those who left the event after the brawl.

One car failed to stop when directed by police and it was pursued for a short time on Grange Rd before the chase was terminated due to safety fears.

Just before the chase ended, two men got out of the car, leaving the driver to continue on.

Shooting at Pooraka

Police at the scene of the shooting at Pooraka. Picture: Campbell Brodie

A 31-year-old man from Two Wells and a 39-year-old man from Paralowie were charged with failing to truthfully answer questions about the identity of the driver.

Following the fight, a Public Safety Order was issued for the venue.

2 - HOME FIREBOMBED

Uniformed police stood powerless as a group of furious and muscular young men converged on a Parafield Gardens home shortly after a Molotov cocktail was thrown inside about 8.45pm on Tuesday.

Minutes earlier, firefighters had doused a small blaze in the kitchen of the Rosecombe Place home after neighbours noticed smoke emerging from the house.

Shooting at Pooraka

Forensic specialists enter the spray painting business on Langford St, Pooraka. Picture: Campbell Brodie

Nobody was home at the time, and it is unclear whether the firebombing was intended as a warning or to harm those inside.

A 25-year old Hells Angels north crew associate, who lives at the home with his mother, forced his way past police manning the front door.

Soon after, another man ran at a television cameraman, violently demanding he stop filming.

A woman who arrived in a car during the incident appeared distressed and asked that she not be filmed.

Police believe the house had been broken into and glass fragments found near the fire were believed to be from a Molotov cocktail.

Yesterday, a tradesman who went to the home was greeted by a woman who emerged from the house, where a blue Mercedes Benz sedan sat in the front yard without number plates attached.

3 - TATTOO TRASHING

Lords Of Ink tattoo studio at Salisbury North stood empty and silent yesterday - the closed doors the only clue to the brief but violent rampage that took place there 24 hours earlier.

The studio, with links to the Finks Motorcycle Club, was targeted in an attack by a group of men shortly after 1pm Wednesday.

The incident - which police were unaware of until several hours after the Pooraka shooting - also escaped the attention of business owners in the small group of shops, who were unaware anything had happened until staff emerged from the tattoo parlour.

One shop owner said staff at the tattoo studio were always friendly and there had never been any trouble at the business - until Wednesday.

Police said the intruders "extensively damaged" property inside the studio and detectives from the newly formed Operation Alpha are investigating whether the same men were responsible for the murder at Pooraka shortly afterwards.

The damage had been cleaned up by yesterday afternoon, when the interior of the studio appeared spotless with dozens of trophies adorning shelves above the counter.

4 - MURDER AT POORAKA

THE sounds of a busy industrial strip disguised the deadly nature of the loud bangs at Unique Custom Paint & Panel at Pooraka about 1.40pm on Wednesday.

Witnesses who heard the gunshots thought it was a car backfiring, or a crash of metal from one of the many auto and industrial operations in Langford St.

It was, they would learn when police swooped and cordoned off the street, much more sinister.

That loud bang served as a fatal full point to yet another chapter in Adelaide's deadly bikie feud - but almost certainly will not signal an end to the ongoing war.

A 33-year-old man had been gunned down in front of terrified witnesses in his workplace, a spray-painting business specialising in hot cars and motorcycles.

Witnesses say a white car sped from the scene.

The fatally wounded man - named last night as Jason De Ieso - was pronounced dead at Royal Adelaide Hospital after paramedics had treated him at the scene.

Finks bikies arrived at the scene soon after the shooting, with one suggesting it was one of their number, or a close associate, who had been killed.