|
 |
|
|
|
15 Aug
A senior member of the WA chapter of the Gypsy Jokers, was visibly emotional in the dock today, describing how a friend and fellow club member died in his arms after being shot in the back by a sniper in Western Australia's Goldfields.
A sergeant-at-arms in the Perth chapter of the Gypsy Jokers , Graeme "Slim" Slater, and four other bikers are alleged to have waged an arson and bombing campaign against disgraced former senior detective Don Hancock.
The jury at Perth District Court has been told the club believed the retired policeman was responsible for shooting Billy Grierson in the back, as the members of the club sat around a campfire in the hamlet of Ora Banda on October 1, 2000.
At the start of the defense case today, Slater fought back tears as he described how he had sat with his arm around Mr Grierson in the middle of the racetrack in Ora Banda when shots rang out.
"I knew it was a gunshot, so we scattered behind our truck for safety. Five minutes later there was another shot, it came through and hit him (Mr Grierson) in the back – I knew it went into him because I heard the thud," Slater said,
"When I picked him up he got heavy – he died then because I felt his weight."
Slater, Les Hoddy, Richard Samuels, Robert Stupar and Gary White all deny either planning or planting bombs which devastated Mr Hancock's home, the Ora Banda Historic Inn, and the nearby gold battery which he owned, allegedly as revenge for Mr Grierson's death.
The prosecution revolves around the evidence of former biker turned-rollover witness Sid "Snot" Reid, who claimed Slater was the mastermind of the plan to devastate Mr Hancock's home and businesses.
Reid, giving evidence from a secret location because of fears for his safety, previously told the court how he and Slater had collected explosives from a grave, before making two pipe bombs that were used to destroy the hotel.
Today, Slater denied planning the initial bombing of the inn, which was blown up 12 days after Grierson's murder.
And the 38 year-old father-of-three described Reid as a "scumbag", who had been warned by other club members about his criminal behaviour, and who had stated that he was intent in "shutting down" Ora Banda.
"We didn't like his carry on, none of us did. He was a scumbag for what he was doing, stealing from hard-working men. That was his world, not ours," Slater said.
"He mentioned he wanted to shut the town down. I was upset, but revenge was never in my mind – it gets you nowhere."
Slater also said that police in WA had victimised the Gypsy Jokers, and had warned them numerous times they would be closed down.
"If I had a dollar for every time they had told us that, I would have a new Harley," Slater said.
Mr Hancock, along with his friend Lou Lewis, were killed in a remotely detonated car bomb in Perth on September 1, 2001.
The jury has been told Slater was acquitted last year of both murders.
The trial continues.
