OneFour rapper Salec Sua jailed over Mt Druitt pub brawl
A rapper from the music group OneFour has been jailed for his role in a bloody pub brawl in which golf clubs, pool cues and knives were used. It comes as a judge spoke of his fears for escalating gang violence and the impact of the group’s lyrics.
Blacktown
Don't miss out on the headlines from Blacktown. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- OneFour, Inner West gang brawl: Mal Seve, Rekindle Tautalaga sentenced over Mt Druitt pub fight
- OneFour rapper Salec Sua faces more jail time over Mt Druitt pub fight
A rapper with controversial hip-hop group OneFour has been jailed over his role in a wild brawl at a western Sydney pub, with a judge raising concerns over the violent content of his music.
Salec Sua, 27, also known as Lekks, was jailed for a maximum of 14 months on Monday after admitting to taking part in the melee at The Village Hotel in Mt Druitt on a State of Origin night in July 2019.
He will be eligible for release on parole in December 2021, after he was last year jailed for a minimum of two years and three months over a violent brawl at a Rooty Hill pub in 2018.
The Parramatta District Court heard Sua had been one of up to 20 young men involved in the violent altercation in the carpark of the pub between the Greater West gang, also known as OneFour, and rivals, the Inner West Brotherhood.
The gang is separate to the musical group OneFour.
The court heard Sua had been innocently drinking with friends and OneFour gang associates at the pub while watching the football when a convoy of four cars with men from the Inner West gang arrived at the hotel instigating a fight.
Judge Stephen Hanley said the Inner West men had travelled to the pub from the Guildford Hotel that night to “exact revenge” over an incident between the gangs at Guildford train station earlier that day.
CCTV captured the convoy of Inner West gang members arriving at the carpark as OneFour members waited out the front of the pub, some armed with weapons.
What followed was several minutes of violence, in which two brothers from the Inner West group were stabbed and Sua himself was hit by a car and thrown into the air.
Shocked onlookers called police, who arrived at the scene just after the brawl to find knives, broken pool cues and a golf club snapped in half and covered in blood left behind in the carpark.
Judge Hanley agreed with the defence that Sua’s involvement in the fight took place over a “matter of seconds” as the Inner West gang retreated from the “chaotic mayhem”.
“Mr Sua’s presence at the hotel appeared to be an innocent one,” Judge Hanley said.
“He can only be seen joining the fight as the Inner West Brotherhood gang members are seen retreating from the area.
“His involvement can be counted in seconds.
“There is no evidence Mr Sua was armed or caused any physical injury.”
In sentencing, Mr Hanley acknowledged Sua’s musical pursuits, drawing on a string of testimonials, including one from Sony Music.
“He has a promising career ahead of him in the entertainment industry as a hip-hop artist,” he said.
“He was a member of a hip-hop group called OneFour that has some prospects in the music industry of being successful.
“His song ‘Shanks and Shivs’ however causes me some concern if the title is reflective of the contents.”
Citing a psychological report, Judge Hanley referred to Sua’s challenges with binge-drinking and depression, largely sparked by sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
He said Sua had good prospects of moving past his criminal offending.
“He has a promising career ahead of him and should be sufficiently motivated to pursue it,” he said.
“The counsel says ‘the penny has dropped’. I can only hope so.”
Tikoa Lene, 21, an associate of the Inner West gang, was also sentenced on Monday after admitting to taking part in the brawl while being armed with a hammer.
He was given a Community Corrections Order to be of good behaviour for two years and to not associate with any Inner West gang members.
In sentencing Lene, Judge Hanley found his behaviour in the fight to also be minimal, but aggravated by him driving his cousin and now jailed co-offender Mal Seve, 22, to the pub after planning revenge with the gang at Guildford earlier that night.
Lene, a young father and son of Samoan pastors, was pictured on CCTV footage armed with a hammer but did not participate in the brawl itself, Judge Hanley found.
“He regrets the decision he made to go to the hotel that night and the impact it has had on his family,” he said.
“He is unlikely to reoffend. These offences are out of character.”
Judge Hanley said gang violence would not be tolerated by the community.
“The community is abhorred by these gangs of young men who by some immature desires mark out areas as their own and defend them,” he said.
“The consequences of this behaviour can be fatal.”
In June, Mr Seve was jailed for two years, with a non-parole period of 12 months, after pleading guilty to affray and participating in a criminal group.
A further co-accused and former Greater West member Rekindle Tautalaga, 23, was placed on a Community Corrections Order for two years after being convicted of the same charges and an additional offence of larceny.
WHAT IS ONEFOUR?
OneFour is a drill-style rap group originating in Mt Druitt, western Sydney, which shares its names with a criminal street gang.
The group has sparked controversy over their violent lyrics, which often refer to knife crime and gang activity.
Famous for their hit single ‘Shanks and Shivs’, the group has distanced itself from the OneFour gang, despite several members being convicted of gang-related brawls.
In December 2019, OneFour rapper Salec Sua (Lekks), Pio Misa (YP) and Dahcell Ramos (Celly14) were jailed over a violent brawl at Rooty Hill’s Carousel Inn Hotel in July 2018.
Misa was jailed for four years over several charges including reckless grievous bodily harm while Ramos was sentenced to 10 years.
In July 2019, NSW Police set up Strike Force Imbara to tackle gang crime across Sydney after a street brawl outside Westfield Parramatta in June last year and a brawl at The Village Hotel in Mt Druitt the following month.
A leading investigator with Strike Force Imbara, Senior Sergeant Craig Pullen, has told a court in February that the rap group was closely linked to the criminal gang and was also responsible for inciting violence.
“We now have this music group OneFour, they’re a hip-hop band and in the words in their music, they incite violence in the outer west,” he said.
The street gang, also known as Greater West, is known for its rivalries with the Inner West gang.