Former Adelaide bikie Josh Rider to spend 30 years behind bars for Mongols gang land murder
As tensions between the Victorian Finks and Mongols gangs spilled over, a former Adelaide bikie stepped into the fray. Now he is serving a 30-year prison sentence.
Police & Courts
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Three years before he gunned down an innocent man in a botched gang land hit in Melbourne, Mongols bikie Josh Rider was living it up in Adelaide.
A career criminal with convictions in WA, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, Rider was in Adelaide for the waning days of the SA Mongols before police and the courts dismantled the gang.
Court records show Rider, now 33 but behind bars until he is in his 50s, was charged with drug and driving offences while in South Australia, including being jailed for more than a month.
Warrants for his arrest remain outstanding in this state on charges of possessing a controlled drug, driving disqualified and possessing prescription medication.
Rider moved to South Australia from Perth around 2014 and spent several years in Adelaide pursuing a boxing career before moving to Melbourne when he was 26.
Social media photos from that time show Rider socialising with Mongols gang members who have since taken senior positions in other Adelaide bikie gangs.
From Adelaide, Rider moved to Victoria where he continued his long-time association with the Mongols.
He became embroiled in a roiling bikie culture, which led to him taking the life of an innocent man.
In the weeks leading up to November 9, 2019, members of the Mongols procured two stolen cars – a Mercedes and an Amarok ute.
On November 8, 2019, Rider and another member of the gang Aaron Ong separately attended the Melbourne chapter of the Mongol’s clubhouse.
The pair later met at Rider’s Port Melbourne apartment where they left their mobile phones.
In the early hours of the next morning the men drove the two stolen vehicles, now equipped with fake licence plates to Jaxlee Close in the Melbourne suburb of Mooroolbark.
The Amarok was left in the driveway of a half built house and the two men used the Mercedes to drive the three kilometres to the Croydon home of Paul Virgona.
The pair waited until 2am when the 46-year-old father of two emerged from his home to head to work at the Epping Markets where he operated a fresh produce business.
The two men followed Mr Virgona through the suburbs and on to the EastLink heading towards the city.
At 2.15am, the stolen Mercedes sped up to come alongside of Mr Virgona’s car. The passenger in the car, which was suspected but never confirmed to have been Rider, fired 11 rounds from a semiautomatic handgun into the car.
Seven of the rounds hit Mr Virgona, sending his car spinning out of control across the busy freeway.
He died sitting in the front seat of his car – the victim of a case of mistaken identity with no links to any gangs.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but a 2021 judgment related to case revealed that there was spiralling violence between the Mongols and the Finks.
A senior Finks figure lived near Mr Virgona.
Rider and Ong sped away, heading back to Jaxlee Close where they dumped and torched the Mercedes before leaving in the Amarok.
Police were quickly aware the pair had dumped the Mercedes and were soon following the Amarok.
Rider, who was driving, reached speeds of 150km/h trying to escape police but crashed into a giveway sign.
Both men tried to flee but were quickly arrested.
Clothes which had been worn by Rider tested positive to gun powder residue. Shortly before going to trial on a charge of murder, Rider pleaded guilty to recklessly causing Mr Virgona’s death.
In August this year, Rider was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 years.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale urged Rider to sever his ties with the gang.
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