Finks bikies David Anderson, Raffaele Marrone and Timothy Byrne associated at Boban Jokic’s funeral
After helping an old lady into a taxi, three Finks bikies consorted for under a minute at the funeral of a fellow member – with a prosecutor saying the public may have been intimidated.
West & Beaches
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Three bikies asking to be spared jail after associating with each other for less than a minute at a funeral – a law which their lawyer says has the public “appalled”.
David John Anderson, 49, Raffaele Daniel Marrone, 44, and Timothy John Byrne, 31, paid and organised the funeral for their fellow member but were stung with a consorting charge after 41 seconds of contact.
During the men’s trial, the court heard the trio were present at a fellow Finks bikie Boban Jokic’s Serbian Orthodox funeral on May 8, 2020.
The funeral started at Distinctive Funerals in West Hindmarsh and concluded at the Cheltenham cemetery.
The court heard the men conversed as they lifted a banner reading ‘Finks world Rest in Peace Boban Jokic’.
Mr Anderson, of Paralowie, Mr Marrone, of Virginia, and Mr Byrne, of Tarpeena,
were found guilty in November of being present with two or more members of a criminal organisation.
Bede Elliot, for the men, argued during the trial that the charges were in contravention of sections of the Australian Constitution that guarantee freedom of religion.
On Thursday, he argued there were exceptional circumstances not to impose a prison sentence on the men.
Under current SA law, a person found guilty of the offence must have a sentence of imprisonment imposed on them, which cannot be suspended unless there are exceptional circumstances.
“A funeral is such a delicate type of thing – it’s about grief, mourning, loss, benevolence,” Mr Bede said.
“It’s part of the moral nature of human beings to attend a funeral.”
Mr Bede said the men paid for and organised the funeral for Mr Jokic.
“They tried to stay away from each other … the extent of their breach is for a matter of seconds,” he said.
“You’ve got Mr Anderson helping an old lady into a cab, turns around and sees them (Byrne and Marrone) dismantling the banner … walks over, realises ‘woah, I’m doing something wrong here’.”
Mr Bede said he calculated 41 seconds of “inadvertent” contact between the men.
“I can’t think of anything that could be more exceptional than attendance at a funeral,” he said.
“Most people you talk to are appalled with this exercise.”
A prosecutor said they disagreed exceptional circumstances had been met.
“What the defendants engaged in was a public display of support and association for the Finks as a criminal organisation,” the prosecutor said.
“Members of the community may be intimidated or fearful of groups of bikies gathering in public areas.”
The prosecutor said it was possible for the men to have participated in the funeral without breaching the legislation.
“You accept that it would be pretty hard,” replied magistrate Roderick Jensen.
Magistrate Jensen will make his ruling next month.
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