Hells Angels associate loses appeal
- 17 minutes ago September 09, 2014
A HELLS Angels associate jailed over a terrifying Adelaide home invasion, in which a rival's young son was shot, has lost an appeal against his convictions.
ARRON James Cluse, 24, was jailed for at least five years in May after a judge found him guilty of aggravated serious criminal trespass and two aggravated counts of endangering life in September 2011.
The then prominent Finks bikie, Mark Sandery, who lived at the targeted house with his partner and four sons, was out when windows were smashed, the front door was kicked in and his son, 11, was shot twice in the leg.
The judge found Cluse was one of those who smashed windows, finding him guilty on the basis he was part of a joint enterprise aimed at striking fear into the occupants.
On Tuesday, the SA Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed Cluse's challenge.
The appeal included grounds relating to the admissibility of evidence given by a detective from the Crime Gangs Task Force on motorcycle club culture and history.
The court found it was not opinion evidence but knowledge gleaned from long observation and study, and was properly admitted.
But it also found that evidence given of specific instances of violence between motorcycle gangs, learnt from secondary sources, was inadmissible and it had been an error of law to admit it.
However, this did not cause a substantial miscarriage of justice because the use made of the evidence was limited and the case against Cluse would have been no weaker without it.