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~Wolf From Atlanta~
[OZ] Detective drank with suspect
Mon Jul 12, 2004 4:00am
63.184.200.148
Detective drank with suspect
By Tim Clarke
July 12, 2004
THE policeman in charge of investigating a former senior Perth
detective suspected of killing a bikie had been drinking with the
detective just hours before the bikie murder, a court has been
told.
In October 2000, former Perth chief of detectives Don Hancock was
suspected of having shot Gypsy Joker Billy Grierson after an
altercation at the pub the retired detective owned in the WA
Goldfields hamlet of Ora Banda.
At the trial of five bikies accused of waging a revenge bombing
campaign against Mr Hancock, Detective Senior Sergeant Kim Gage
today recounted how just days into a new post as head of
Kalgoorlie detectives, he found himself investigating a lifelong
friend of his father.
Det Sgt Gage said the day Mr Grierson was fatally shot, he had
enjoyed a lengthy drinking session with Mr Hancock in the pub's
beer garden, during which time the bikies arrived.
"He (Don Hancock) bought a round of drinks for all of us. At
around 3pm I observed four members of the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle
Club. I told Don what I had seen and asked him if they came there
often," he told the court.
"He said no, but he would prefer if they didn't come there
at all."
Mr Grierson was killed by a single shot as he sat near a campfire
opposite the inn after he and other gang members were ejected
from the pub for making lewd comments in front of Mr Hancock's
daughter.
Det Sgt Gage told Perth District Court Mr Hancock became visibly
upset when told Mr Grierson had died and then refused to answer
any questions before consulting a lawyer.
Det Sgt Gage said a day after the shooting he handed the case
over to another detective because of his personal association
with Mr Hancock.
Four members of the Gypsy Jokers and a club associate are being
tried over the bombings on the Hancocks' home and businesses,
which were carried out in a 23-day period after Mr Grierson's
death.
Graeme Slater, Leslie Hoddy, Richard Samuels, Robert Stupar and
Gary White all deny either planning or planting the bombs which
devastated Mr Hancock's home, the Ora Banda Historic Inn and the
nearby gold battery which he owned.
The court earlier was told the retired detective, along with his
friend Lou Lewis, were killed in a remotely detonated car bomb in
Perth on September 1, 2001.
Another policeman at the scene of the shooting, Max Janse, told
the jury he was surprised to see Mr Hancock eating an orange a
short time after the murder.
Mr Janse said the citric acid from the orange would have
contaminated any gunshot residue testing done on Mr Hancock's
hands.
"I was suspicious of his behaviour. I found it
unusual," Mr Janse said.
~Wolf From Atlanta~
Hancock actions suspicious: police officer
Mon Jul 12, 2004 5:51pm
63.184.201.225
Hancock actions suspicious: police officer
DAVID DARRAGH
The behaviour of retired CIB chief Don Hancock was suspicious to
the officer sent to investigate the murder of Gypsy Jokers bikie
Billy Grierson at Ora Banda.
Maxim Janse, a former Kalgoorlie constable, told a District Court
jury yesterday Mr Hancock seemed defensive on the night Mr
Grierson was shot dead as he sat around a campfire on October 1,
2000.
Mr Hancock earlier ejected four Gypsy Jokers from his nearby pub
for making "dirty" remarks in front of his daughter.
Mr Janse said Mr Hancock told him: "Fair enough, it seems
like I am a suspect" before putting up his hands in a
surrender and saying he would not say anything more and would
brief his lawyer.
Mr Hancock drove home minutes later, disobeying a police
instruction to stay at the Ora Banda Inn. Mr Janse then went to
the house where Mr Hancock said he did not have to return to the
pub but detectives could speak to him at his house if they wanted
to.
"I think he was attempting to call my bluff," he said.
"I was suspicious of his behaviour."
Mr Hancock agreed to return to the pub when threatened with
arrest for hindering the investigation. Mr Janse said Mr Hancock
appeared freshly showered, had changed his clothes and was eating
an orange. He understood citric acid from oranges could ruin
gunshot residue tests.
Mr Janse was testifying at the trial of Gypsy Jokers Graeme
Slater, Leslie Thomas Hoddy, Richard Lee Samuels and Robert
Darren Stupar and gang associate Gary Ernest White. All are
accused of bomb and arson attacks on Mr Hancock's three Ora Banda
properties in October and November 2000.
He agreed he knew Mr Hancock had a reputation as someone not to
be "mucked around with".
Det-Sen. Sgt Kim Gage testified he was drinking with Mr Hancock
and his wife, Elizabeth, hours before Mr Grierson was shot dead.
He had been recently appointed head of Kalgoorlie detectives and
had to investigate Mr Hancock, a long-time friend of his father.
He said there was not enough evidence for a search warrant which
would have allowed them to look for Mr Hancock's clothes.
He asked to be removed from the investigation and another
detective took over on October 3, 2000.