The Snitch: Runaway Dillon Murdoch at large once again

It’s the case of catch me if you can ... again. Dillon Murdoch spent three months on the run, posting selfies and mocking police, before he was finally caught — but he was granted bail in Queensland a week ago and then failed to show up for court on Tuesday.

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Dillon Murdoch spent three months on the run and taunting police before he was finally caught — but he has escaped again after a Queensland magistrate let him go.

It is the latest development in a long-running case that started with Murdoch, 34, allegedly breaking into six different businesses around Richmond, in northwest Sydney, last year.

The 34-year-old posted selfies that mocked police, but outwitted himself in March when he put up a shot of himself holding a boarding pass with a destination of Hervey Bay in Queensland.

Dillon Murdoch spent several months taunting police with posts such as these (including insets) on social media.

NSW Police asked for local cops to meet him on the tarmac but it was a case of first-in, best-dressed.

Queensland Police charged Murdoch with possessing drug utensils, and break and enter, which related to an offence allegedly carried out on their turf.

The Sydney man was miraculously granted bail but couldn’t come up with the surety so stayed behind bars. Then a second magistrate granted him bail again and he walked out of jail last week.

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A police source said it was very unusual for an offender wanted in another state to be granted bail, especially given Murdoch’s track record.

Unsurprisingly, when the case was mentioned in Ipswich Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, the man himself was a no show.

A lawyer adjourned the case on his behalf to July 30, when police will wait with bated breath to see if he goes MIA again.

It is understood NSW investigators tried to convince their maroon-barracking counterparts to serve their warrant on Murdoch but were knocked back.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said Murdoch could not be extradited until the Queensland offences were dealt with.

LAWYER BIFF

Criminal solicitor Javid Faiz is preparing to face court tomorrow but he won’t be at the bar table.

Sydney criminal lawyer Javid Faiz.

The Parramatta-based lawyer will appear as a defendant after being charged over an incident at a construction site in Pendle Hill in Sydney’s west on April 9.

The charge added salt to the wound for Mr Faiz, who was allegedly attacked on his own property, and his father, who was also charged despite ending up in hospital with a broken nose.

The story goes Mr Faiz and his father went to a property they owned in Pendle Hill, where a construction project was under way.

According to police, two tradesman turned up and there was a dispute over work done and money paid. Before they knew it, there were punches thrown. Police were also told a brick, shovel and picket were among the building materials-turned-weapons used.

Conflicting versions were provided so police charged everyone, which essentially left it up to
the court to decide who was at fault.

Mr Faiz’s barrister A.J. Karim said it was appalling his client was charged when all he was doing was “minding his own business on his own property”.

“He is then (allegedly) attacked and put in a situation where he is required to defend his father and property,” he said. “To make things worse, he has to suffer the expense of defending his good name.”

Mr Faiz, who founded Sydney Criminal Law Specialists, will appear in Fairfield Local Court tomorrow to defend charges of affray and armed with intent to commit an indictable offence. Among colleagues, Mr Faiz is seen as a young but promising newcomer, and recently represented former NRL player Luke O’Donnell.

DOGHOUSE

The top brass is in the doghouse after suggesting the canine unit spends too much money pampering their pooches.

Handlers at NSW Police’s Dog Unit are given about $5000 a year to keep their dogs groomed and fed.

Police dog graduation ceremony. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

The animals become part of an officer’s family and it is their responsibility to care for the dog after work hours.

But the police force’s razor gang is angling to have the crime-fighting canines housed in a general kennel at the new dog unit base in Vineyard, Snitch has been told.

That would open the door to scrapping the dog allowance, something the officers are vehemently opposed to.

“Currently the handlers spend anywhere between two to three hours a day looking after their dogs,” one source said. “The cops are strongly considering central kennelling. This will provide a poor service to the public and less care for the dogs they work with.”

POKER FACE

It’s a six-figure gamble that has paid off for a professional poker player facing charges of killing a cyclist in Double Bay.

Millionaire poker player Warwick Mirzikinian is facing charges of killing a French food delivery rider last November while driving his electric Tesla car.

Kristy and Warwick Mirzikinian.

Mirzikinian was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and is facing jail if found guilty. He has pleaded not guilty.

In the interim, Mirzikinian has posted $120,000 bail and his release conditions have allowed him to fly to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Poker world championships.

For the uninitiated, this is the world’s biggest poker tournament.

The tournament has a $10,000 buy-in, and yesterday Mirzikinian busted and finished in 20th place. This means he walked away with a $US324,000 purse.

The top prize in the tournament is $10 million and Mirzikinian was competing against 8569 other card sharks.

He made his fortune as a mobile phone entrepreneur and lives a few doors down from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in Point Piper.

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