Jason De Ieso murder trial verdict: Seven Hells Angels-linked men found guilty and jury hung on one
A jury has found seven men guilty for the shooting murder of Jason De Ieso more than a decade on from his death – but it was unable to reach a verdict on an eighth man.
Police & Courts
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A jury has found seven Hells Angels-linked men guilty of the shooting murder of innocent man Jason De Ieso in 2012 – but was unable to reach a verdict on one.
The men found guilty of murder are: brothers Husain Alzuain, 36, of Goodwood, Mohamed Alzuain, 32, of Mile End and Musa Ali Alzuain, 30, of St Morris, along with Daniel Mark Jalleh, 34, of Clovelly Park, Ross William Montgomery, 38, of Andrews Farm, Kyle Lloyd Pryde, 35, of Adelaide and Nicholas Sianis, 36, of Beverley.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Seywan Moradi, 36, of Walkley Heights.
The verdicts, which the Supreme Court jury foreman delivered after 30 and a half hours of deliberations across six days since beginning on Wednesday afternoon, mean Husain Alzuain, Mohamed Alzuain, Musa Ali Alzuain, Daniel Mark Jalleh, Ross William Montgomery, Kyle Lloyd Pryde and Nicholas Sianiswill serve a mandatory life sentence.
As the jury foreman announced each of the verdicts the accused remained almost emotionless, aside from shaking their heads.
Only Ross Montgomery spoke audibly, uttering the words “this is wrong’’ after the guilty verdict in relation to him was announced.
One of his supporters also swore and visibly shook a water bottle, prompting several of the 10 sheriff’s officers in the courtroom to focus their attention on him.
Seconds after Justice Brian Martin adjourned the court, Montgomery looked at his mother sitting in the first row of the courtroom and said loudly “love you mum’’.
“Stay strong please, it is all good.’’
She replied “I love you.’’
A sister of the three Alzuain brothers then started yelling in the courtroom and walked up to the dock and attempted to speak with her brothers.
“I am done being quiet, I am done,’’ she yelled.
“I will tell everything, let me now.’’
The woman motioned to the media that she would speak outside of the courtroom, but 10 minutes later when she left the court complex in a calmer state she was surrounded by friends and family and remained quiet.
Lawyers for the accused also declined to comment as they left court, except Michael Woods, for Mohamed Alzuain, who said it was “very tense” inside the courtroom.
A second courtroom set up to broadcast the verdict was also filled with onlookers.
The Advertiser can also now reveal the jury has spent the last six nights in a hotel, being the first jury sequestered while deliberating in South Australia for a number of years.
As he discharged the jury of six men and six women from their service, Justice Martin wavered as he said he had learned a lot from jurors over the past 50 years, including the Snowtown bodies in the barrels jurors who delivered their verdicts 20 years ago.
“It has been my privilege to watch and learn from you. I have nothing but admiration for the way in which you have conscientiously and patiently gone about your task,” he said.
“You have more than earned an order from me exempting you from giving any jury service in the future.
“If you are called to another jury, you may choose to serve if you want, but you are exempt if you apply to be exempt.”
He said that now those verdicts had been delivered, “responsibility for the consequences of your verdicts passes to me”.
He became emotional, suggesting he had become soft in his later years, as he thanked the jury for their dedicated service over the past five months.
“Do not look back or have any second thoughts. Details will fade, there will be reports in the media, people might want to write books – but nobody knows this case like you,” he said.
Noting one of the jurors appeared upset, Justice Martin told the jury not to be afraid of their feelings, which he said were “a natural response to a very, very difficult and for you a very stressful situation”.
“Anyone who understands our criminal justice system does not underestimate the value of the service that you have given to the community,” he said.
“Our community owes you a great deal of gratitude. I hope the knowledge that you have provided such a valuable service is of some recompense for the extent of the disruption to your daily lives.
“It has been a long road for you since you were selected on the 10th of May.
“I don’t need to tell you anything about the size and complexity of this case and as a community we should be grateful to those who are tasked with the responsibility of investigating this crime and putting together the extraordinarily complex and large case of evidence.
He also thanked the many other people involved – including court sheriffs and staff, investigators and counsel – for ensuring the trial ran as smoothly as possible for the jury.
“I thank all counsel for their co-operation in this trial, without their co-operation we wouldn’t have reached this point,” he said.
Prosecutors had alleged Mr De Ieso was shot in a case of mistaken identity amid an escalating bikie war between the Hells Angels and Finks which began 18-months earlier in May 2011.
The jury had been told the men who allegedly fired the fatal shot was former Olympic hopeful boxer Musa Alzuain and the alleged intended target of the ambush was senior Fink Charles Bonnici.
During the trial, the jury had been told each of the accused men was closely linked to the Hells Angels and that all except Musa Alzuain had become a member, while his brother Mohamed Alzuain had left the gang in late 2014.
A ninth man prosecutors alleged was among those captured in CCTV of the men storming Mr De Ieso’s workshop has since died.
The trial, which spanned almost five months and 6200 pages of transcript, began on May 10 with an opening from prosecutor Jim Pearce KC.
Mr Pearce had told the jury that after a firebombing at the Alzuain family home the night before the murder – which the Alzuains allegedly suspected was orchestrated by the Finks – the men allegedly “began making plans for retaliation”.
“The feud between the two rival groups had become personal and the retribution that followed would be swift, severe and would culminate in the murder of Mr De Ieso,” he had said.
The jury had been told the group of masked men, whom prosecuted alleged was the accused, had first travelled to Mr Bonnici’s northern suburbs tattoo parlour and bashed staff before driving to Mr De Ieso’s business where Mr Bonnici was also known to work.
Mr Bonnici had left minutes before the shooting after receiving a call from the tattoo parlour.
The key prosecution witness, who cannot be identified, told the jury he had seen the accused men gathering at a Salisbury Hwy home, where gloves and hoodies were being handed out and guns had been handled in the hours before the shooting.
Defence counsel for each of the men had told the jury it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that their clients were among those depicted in the CCTV footage of the incident.
They also claimed the key witness was a “compulsive liar” and a “bottom feeder” whose evidence was “dreadful” and an attempt to “save his own skin”.
Bill Boucaut KC, for Mr Moradi, said there was “not a skerrick of evidence” that could prove his client was among those on the CCTV and said the key witness was “a self-confessed liar”.
Mr Moradi will return to court later this month, the others will return to court for a presentence hearing in December.
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