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Allegedly,senior Gypsy Jokers biker Graeme Slater, angrily confronted a detective investigating the murder of fellow biker Billy Grierson and threatened to "take care of it" his way after police did not arrest former corrupt CIB chief Don Hancock over the killing, a District Court jury was told yesterday.
Det-Sgt Noreen O'Rourke gave evidence that Slater was initially calm and co-operative with her after the fatal shooting. But two days into the investigation he arranged a meeting in which he verbally attacked her.
Sgt O'Rourke said Slater was upset and agitated and started "yelling and screaming" at her. He was swearing and demanding to know why former CIB chief Don Hancock had not been arrested over Mr Grierson's murder.
The last thing he said was "Fuck you and your ways, I'm going to take care of it my way" before he drove off, she said.
Sgt O'Rourke was testifying at the trial of four Gypsy Jokers club members - Graeme Slater, Les Hoddy, Richard Samuels and Darren Stupar - and club associate Gary White who are accused of launching a revenge bombing campaign on Don Hancock's Ora Banda properties after Mr Grierson's murder in October 2000. Cross examined by Colin Lovitt QC, for Slater, Sgt O'Rourke disagreed with suggestions she had invented the claim after being "encouraged" to make a statement that "shafted" Slater.
Sgt O'Rourke admitted she first included Slater's alleged words in her second statement, made 20 months after the incident.
She said she did not write them down or put them in her first statement, made after the bombings, because she did not realise the significance until later. In other evidence, Mr Hancock's son, Stephen, described the devastation caused by a bomb at his father's Ora Banda pub.
Stephen Hancock testified that he was at home when he heard two explosions in the direction of the hotel after 11pm on October 13, 2000. He went to the pub, which suffered extensive damage, debris was strewn around and doors blown.
There was also a lot of smoke and a small fire burning but he did not see anything suspicious.
Mr Hancock, the pub's manager, said after he returned to Perth, his sister told him in November that the hotel had been bombed a second time, his father's house was burnt down and the family's nearby gold battery was damaged.
The trial continues.
