AUSTRALASIAN BIKER NEWS

 

 

~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.



Back

HOME

Old news