Accused murder scout Osama Hawat suggests he was ‘smoking cones’ instead
A Sydney plumber accused of being a surveillance man for a murderous gang, suggested he may have been eating breakfast, picking up tools or smoking marijuana when he was spotted on CCTV near the crime scene.
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The young plumber accused of being part of a murder said he may have been having his protein shake, “smoking cones” or eating breakfast when his van was allegedly spotted near the scene of the brutal daylight execution.
“What’s this got to do with a f***ing murder?” an incredulous Osama Hawat asked detectives as they showed him CCTV images of his van around Georges Hall in October 2016.
“I pull over anywhere and have a couple of cones it makes it easier for me to work.”
“Maybe I was having my protein shake.”
Hawat has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Hamad Assaad in George’s Hall in October 2016.
Police allege he was the scout and lookout for a group of men who drove a stolen Audi up to Mr Assaad’s home, leapt out and emptied two pistols into their victim.
The final of the 22 shots went through the victim’s brain.
A NSW Supreme Court jury have seen dozens of CCTV images which police say depict Hawat’s work van circling the neighbourhood in the weeks and moments leading up to the attack.
The jury, on Friday, watched a video recording of Hawat’s police interview where he tried to explain to detectives why his van and also his wife’s Audi appear to be spotted on CCTV.
“This is my area, I used to live in Salt Ash Street,” Hawat told detectives Lucy Ede and Ricky Hennessy in June 2017, eight months after the assassination.
“I had nothing to do with this. You’re charging me. I’m a plumber.”
Hours earlier armed police had stormed the Greenacre unit where Hawat lived with his wife and charged him with Mr Assaad’s murder.
Police do not allege Hawat was one of the gunmen in the attack — their identities remain unknown.
But they allege his surveillance of the Assaad home was done as part of a “joint criminal enterprise” and he is, as a result, liable for murder.
Hawat, being interviewed in the Bankstown station, rubbed his head as he explained to the detectives he was likely around Georges Hall visiting friends or in-laws.
As Detective Senior Constable Ede ran him through more pictures Hawat, at points, questioned whether it was even his van.
“Is that it? Are you guys serious? Are you serious?” he said looking over their evidence.
“What does a stolen Audi have to do with that van?”
Hawat finished the interview denying he had any knowledge of the murder aside from what the detectives had told him.
The trial continues.