Troy Mercanti,
a former member of the Coffin Cheaters and now a Fink bikie
gang member. Source:
PerthNow
Tammy Kingdon,
the long-time partner of Troy Mercanti.
Source: PerthNow
A SENIOR Perth bikie has gone on trial accused of repeatedly
assaulting the mother of his two children during 15 years of
physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
Troy Mercanti, a former member of the Coffin Cheaters and now a Fink,
is charged with five counts of assaults on his long-time partner Tammy
Kingdon, which allegedly left her with a broken eye socket, two sets of
broken ribs and countless cuts and bruises.
Prosecutor Justin Whalley told the West Australian District Court on
Tuesday that Mercanti, 45, had also urinated on Ms Kingdon, threatened
to tie her with gaffer tape to a tree to stop her attending her sister's
wedding and ordered her to lie on a dog bed and bark.
Mr Whalley told the jury that after the pair had met in Kalgoorlie in
the late 1990s, where Ms Kingdon was working as a skimpy barmaid, she
had "doomed herself'' to years of abuse in the violent relationship.
Mercanti is alleged to have seriously injured Ms Kingdon first in
1997, when he punched her in the face outside a hotel in Bunbury,
leaving her with black eyes and a fractured eye socket that required a
metal plate to heal.
The pair continued their relationship, and Ms Kingdon gave birth to
two boys by Mercanti in the following four years.
Mr Whalley said Mercanti punched her again in 2002, leaving a facial
cut that needed stitches, and launched a prolonged assault on Christmas
Day 2006 which left her missing a tooth.
In 2011, he allegedly punched and kicked her and made her stand naked
in front of their Duncraig house after an argument following a sex party
involving a friend of Mercanti's.
Following an alleged beating in January 2012, when with broken ribs,
she was left naked and cowering outside a neighbour's home, Ms Kingdon
went to police and made a statement that stretched to 104 pages.
But defence barrister Colin Lovitt QC told the jury that rather than
being a battered woman, Ms Kingdon was enamoured with Mercanti's
lifestyle and reputation, and was herself "angry, abusive, hysterical
and very accident prone''.
Mr Lovitt said the pair's relationship was characterised by verbal
abuse from both sides, but they returned to each other "like moths to a
flame''.
"He bought her everything, and she loved it and kept coming back for
more,'' Mr Lovitt said.
"They had fights galore, they had sex galore, and the making-up for
them was the best part.''
Mr Lovitt said Ms Kingdon had invented the string of violent
incidents to suit her desire to leave the relationship with Mercanti and
retain custody of her children.
The missing tooth was caused by a fall down stairs, and the 1997
assault which broke Ms Kingdon's eye socket was at the hand of someone
else, Mr Lovitt said.
The trial continues.
- See more at: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/troy-mercantis-partner-tammy-kingdon-suffered-15-years-of-abuse-court-told/story-e6frg13u-1226586293760#sthash.qj2w1hj8.dpuf
Relieved ... Anthony Tan
outside the court. Photo: Stephanie
Gardiner
ANTHONY TAN was hard at work two years ago, trying to
build his export business in Vietnam when he read a media report from NSW,
describing him as one of the state's most wanted men.
He had been back in his homeland for two years, unaware of
the police hunt for him.
Mr Tan immediately got on the phone - first to a lawyer,
then to an airline - more than willing to return to Australia to fight
allegations he murdered Bosnian refugee and Rebels bikie Edin ''Boz''
Smajovic, 23.
Free ... Nathan Reddy.
Photo: Stephanie Gardiner
He flew to Sydney in October 2011 and was charged with Mr
Smajovic's murder.
Mr Tan spent almost a year in jail before he was granted
bail in August. He has been waiting for his trial to start this week.
But in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, a strange
mood pervaded.
Mr Tan and his co-accused, Nathan Keith Reddy, sat smiling
in the dock, chatting amiably with their lawyers. It soon became clear why.
Justice Megan Latham was told the Director of Public
Prosecutions would not proceed with the case. ''You are accordingly
discharged. You can leave now if you wish,'' Justice Latham told the men.
Mr Tan and Mr Reddy, who was charged with being an
accessory to murder after the fact, looked relieved and embraced each other.
It is understood the case failed partly because of an alleged confession
from a prosecution witness.
A notice of motion on behalf of the Police Commissioner,
filed in court, requested the men's legal teams hand over all copies of a
police officer's notes of a conversation held at Penrith court house in
April 2009. The officer and the other person involved in the conversation
cannot be named for legal reasons.
Mr Tan's solicitor, Philip Stewart, said his client was
pleased with the development but had served time for a crime he didn't
commit.
Mr Tan was granted bail on August 28, almost a year after
he returned from Vietnam.
He might now seek damages, Mr Stewart said.
''If someone spends a significant period of time in
custody on a matter that carries life imprisonment … you might anticipate
there would be some further action contemplated,'' he said. Mr Tan and Mr
Reddy would not speak to the media. The office of the DPP declined to
comment.
At the time of the shooting, police said Mr Smajovic
entered Mr Tan's Campbelltown car yard on January 9, 2009 just before
gunshots were heard.
Mr Tan was grazed on the neck and Mr Smajovic suffered a
gunshot wound to the chest, from which he died.
A costs application will be heard in March.
Troy Mercanti,
a former member of the Coffin Cheaters and now a Fink bikie
gang member. Source:
PerthNow
Tammy Kingdon,
the long-time partner of Troy Mercanti.
Source: PerthNow
A SENIOR Perth bikie has gone on trial accused of repeatedly
assaulting the mother of his two children during 15 years of
physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
Troy Mercanti, a former member of the Coffin Cheaters and now a Fink,
is charged with five counts of assaults on his long-time partner Tammy
Kingdon, which allegedly left her with a broken eye socket, two sets of
broken ribs and countless cuts and bruises.
Prosecutor Justin Whalley told the West Australian District Court on
Tuesday that Mercanti, 45, had also urinated on Ms Kingdon, threatened
to tie her with gaffer tape to a tree to stop her attending her sister's
wedding and ordered her to lie on a dog bed and bark.
Mr Whalley told the jury that after the pair had met in Kalgoorlie in
the late 1990s, where Ms Kingdon was working as a skimpy barmaid, she
had "doomed herself'' to years of abuse in the violent relationship.
Mercanti is alleged to have seriously injured Ms Kingdon first in
1997, when he punched her in the face outside a hotel in Bunbury,
leaving her with black eyes and a fractured eye socket that required a
metal plate to heal.
The pair continued their relationship, and Ms Kingdon gave birth to
two boys by Mercanti in the following four years.
Mr Whalley said Mercanti punched her again in 2002, leaving a facial
cut that needed stitches, and launched a prolonged assault on Christmas
Day 2006 which left her missing a tooth.
In 2011, he allegedly punched and kicked her and made her stand naked
in front of their Duncraig house after an argument following a sex party
involving a friend of Mercanti's.
Following an alleged beating in January 2012, when with broken ribs,
she was left naked and cowering outside a neighbour's home, Ms Kingdon
went to police and made a statement that stretched to 104 pages.
But defence barrister Colin Lovitt QC told the jury that rather than
being a battered woman, Ms Kingdon was enamoured with Mercanti's
lifestyle and reputation, and was herself "angry, abusive, hysterical
and very accident prone''.
Mr Lovitt said the pair's relationship was characterised by verbal
abuse from both sides, but they returned to each other "like moths to a
flame''.
"He bought her everything, and she loved it and kept coming back for
more,'' Mr Lovitt said.
"They had fights galore, they had sex galore, and the making-up for
them was the best part.''
Mr Lovitt said Ms Kingdon had invented the string of violent
incidents to suit her desire to leave the relationship with Mercanti and
retain custody of her children.
The missing tooth was caused by a fall down stairs, and the 1997
assault which broke Ms Kingdon's eye socket was at the hand of someone
else, Mr Lovitt said.
The trial continues.
- See more at: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/troy-mercantis-partner-tammy-kingdon-suffered-15-years-of-abuse-court-told/story-e6frg13u-1226586293760#sthash.qj2w1hj8.dpuf