Supreme Court jury retires to consider verdict for eight Hells Angels linked men in Jason De Ieso murder trial

The trial of the men accused of murdering Jason De Ieso has heard five months and thousands of pages worth of evidence.

A Supreme Court jury has retired to begin deliberations in the case of eight Hells Angels-linked men accused of gunning down innocent man Jason De Ieso in November 2012.

After an excess member was removed by ballot, the 12-person jury retired to begin deliberations about 4.25pm on Wednesday.

The jury then indicated to the court it would begin deliberations on Thursday.

The jury has heard almost five months of evidence and addresses from prosecution and defence lawyers since the trial started on May 10.

During the trial, the jury was told Mr De Ieso was ambushed and shot dead at his Langford St, Pooraka, panel beating workshop on November 21, 2012, allegedly amid an escalating bikie war between rival bikie gangs the Finks and Hells Angels.

The eight men facing trial for murder are: Husain Alzuain, 36, of Goodwood, Mohamed Alzuain, 32, of Mile End, Musa Ali Alzuain, 30, of St Morris, Daniel Mark Jalleh, 34, of Clovelly Park, Ross William Montgomery, 38, of Andrews Farm, Seywan Moradi, 36, of Walkley Heights, Kyle Lloyd Pryde, 35, of Adelaide and Nicholas Sianis, 36, of Beverley.

The court has heard each of the men, except for Musa Alzuain, had been members of the Hells Angels.

It has also heard that Mohamed Alzuain left the club in 2014, while the others had remained members. He is instead alleged to be closely linked to (or associated with) the gang.

Jason De Ieso murder accused (back row) Kyle Pryde, Nicholas Sianis, Seywan Moradi, (centre) Mohamed Alzuain, Musa Alzuain, Husain Alzuain, (front), Daniel Jalleh and Ross Montgomery. Picture: Timothy Ide

Each of the accused has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder. A ninth man, who police alleged was also involved in the shooting, has since died.

Opening the trial prosecutor Jim Pearce KC told the jury there was a “cascading sequence of events between those two rival clubs that led to the death of Mr De Ieso”.

He said the incidents included a firebombing at the Alzuain family home the night before the alleged murder and that the men allegedly “began making plans for retaliation” after that incident.

“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 said.

Jason De Ieso. Picture: Family

Charlie Bonnici. Picture: Facebook

Since the opening remarks, the jury has sat in courtroom three of the Sir Samuel Way building hearing addresses and evidence from dozens of civilian, expert and police witnesses across more than 6000 pages of transcript.

The key prosecution witness, who cannot be identified, told the jury he had seen the men gathering at a Salisbury Hwy home, where gloves and hoodies were being handed out and guns had been handled.

During the trial, the jury viewed CCTV of the incident which depicts a group of nine men dressed in hooded jumpers approaching Mr De Ieso’s workshop and Mr De Ieso being shot as he attempts to take cover inside.

The jury has been told the alleged intended target of the shooting was senior Fink Charles Bonnici, who was known to work at Mr De Ieso’s workshop. It had also heard Mr Bonnici was seriously bashed by his own gang members a few months later, in February 2013.

None of the accused gave evidence during the trial, but Husain Alzuain called an expert in biomedical and forensic photography to give evidence.

Auxiliary Justice Brian Martin, who has presided over the trial, had told the jury the men “were not obliged to give evidence” under the law.

In their closing addresses, counsel for each of the accused told the jury the key witness was a “compulsive liar” and a “bottom feeder” whose evidence was “dreadful” and an attempt to “save his own skin”.

They also all argued that the identity of those depicted in the CCTV footage could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.