Delay in bikie trial frustrates magistrate

 

A magistrate was scathing yesterday about a delay in a disorderly conduct trial of a senior Rock Machine bikie accused of being involved in a street fight with a member of a rival gang.

Rock Machine sergeant-at-arms Brent James Reker, 26, of Shelley, was set to stand trial in Fremantle Magistrate's Court yesterday over the East Fremantle fight with senior Rebels bikie Mark Charles Rodgers in November.

Defence lawyer Malcolm Ayoub asked for an adjournment, saying he had only recently received disclosure from the prosecution and needed more time.

It tested Magistrate Robert Lawrence's patience. He said the setback was "absolutely beyond a joke" and it should not take more than three months to get ready for a disorderly conduct trial.

Mr Rodgers was acquitted in January of disorderly conduct after claiming Mr Reker and Daniel Eliezer Newman started attacking him with a torch and pepper spray.

Ongoing tensions between the feuding gangs continue to escalate, with a Rock Machine member charged last week with the attempted shooting murder of Rebels WA president Nick Martin.

Extra police, including gang crime squad officers, were at the Fremantle courthouse yesterday to diffuse any potential trouble but the only action police were involved in was the seizure of the car Mr Reker arrived at court in.

Police said the car had been seized for 28 days after a 25-year-old man was caught driving under court suspension. Mr Reker's trial has been adjourned to May 12.