Magistrates Court downgrades, dismisses Ironside charges stemming from plan to bash a man

Five alleged bikies have had their first win against charges stemming from Operation Ironside with serious charges downgraded and dropped.

Five alleged members of the Comanchero motorcycle gang, including a senior office holder, have won a legal battle as they challenge charges stemming from Operation Ironside.

All five men were charged with conspiracy to intentionally cause serious harm to another member of the gang who prosecutors allege had been labelled a coward for not fighting in a street brawl.

On Friday lawyers for four of the men successfully argued that messages intercepted over the AN0M platform did not show “serious” harm would have been caused to the man.

A lawyer for the fifth man, a senior member of the club and a former office bearer, convinced Magistrate John Wells that even if the evidence against his client was taken at its highest, it was still insufficient to prove his involvement.

Prosecutors allege that the intended target of the bashing, whose name is now suppressed, was to be lured to the Adelaide Aquatic Centre in May 2021 where he would be severely bashed.

The court has previously heard that a message was sent over AN0M to the general Comanchero chat, labelled CCCC, asking for volunteers for a “job”.

But the job was allegedly a ruse as four members of the gang communicated in a separate chat group co-ordinating the bashing of the victim.

On Friday a prosecutor told Mr Wells that on the prosecution case the use of weapons including a hammer and wooden bats and poles showed it was to be a severe assault.

There were messages talking about avoiding aluminium bats because they had the tendency to bend if used forcefully and the group allegedly spoke about “caving” the victim.

“F--- him up good, f--- up the coward,” one said.

“We don’t want another Charlie B,” another wrote.

The court heard that was a reference to Charles Bonnici, who was bashed by fellow Finks members in February 2013 and suffered a collapsed lung and facial and rib fractures.

Craig Caldicott, for one of the men, said the reference was nebulous as the message could have been a call not to go as far as the Finks during the bashing of Mr Bonnici.

Under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, to reach the level of serious harm an assault must cause life threatening or permanent injuries.

Mr Wells concluded the evidence did not prove the men would have intended that level of harm.

He downgraded the charge to conspiracy to cause harm, which has a maximum penalty 10 years less than the more serious charge, and committed the men to trial in the District Court.

Dominic Agresta, for the fifth man, argued that there was no way of proving that his client, who was not a member of the chat group allegedly planning the bashing, was involved.

The prosecutor said messages sent after police intervened and prevented the meeting where the bashing was to occur showed the man’s involvement.

Mr Wells disagreed and dismissed the charge.

“Finally some level heads prevail,” the man said via video link from prison.

He is still facing charges of conspiracy to murder, laundering millions of dollars and trafficking kilograms of drugs.