Canberra Comanchero bikies Sugi Mena, Taniela Tai and Penaia Tuineau found not guilty of affray at Southern Cross Club
Three Canberra bikies have been cleared of affray charges over a restaurant scuffle with a group of “f**king dog Nomads”.
Canberra Star
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Three members of the Canberra chapter of the Comanchero bikie gang were on Thursday cleared of affray charges stemming from a minor scuffle with a group of “f**king dog Nomads”.
In the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, Magistrate Glenn Theakston found Sugimatatihuna “Sugi” Mena, Taniela Tai and Penaia Tuineau not guilty of affray, saying there was not enough evidence to show that a reasonable bystander to the brief stoush would likely have been left in fear for his or her safety.
As they left court, one of the men’s supporters said: “Not guilty! Suck a dick mother f**kers”.
The gang’s former Canberra chapter president, Pitasoni Ulavalu, had also been facing an affray charge over the January 2018 incident, but he was stabbed and killed in an unrelated confrontation at a Canberra nightclub Kokomo’s in July, before the hearing wrapped up.
In court on Tuesday, detective Leading Senior Constable Dale Ohlmus said a search of Mr Tuinuea’s phone uncovered a three second video clip — which might have been shared on Snapchat — of a group of Nomads sitting in a booth at the Southern Cross Club in Woden.
The clip was captioned “f*cking dog Nomads”.
Senior Constable Ohlmus said the video appeared to be filmed on the same night as the incident, in which a member of the Nomads, James Butt, was left with a bloodied nose and, it was alleged, one of the Comanchero gang tipped out a bottle of Corona.
The wedge of lemon from the Nomad’s Corona was flung dramatically across the dining room, and landed on a nearby table.
Bystanders heard an unidentified member of the Comanchero group saying “bitches, let’s do this”.
But Mr Theakston found the evidence of bystanders showed they were not concerned for their own safety, or that of their dining companions.
“What in fact happened did not reach the level of (being) likely to cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety,” Mr Theakston said.
He ordered police to pay Mr Mena and Mr Tuineau’s legal fees.
Two other Comancheros, Palei Maifelemi and Jaymie Turner, previously pleaded guilty to affray over their roles in the incident and were handed good behaviour orders.
The seventh Comanchero involved who was at the club on the night, Susefo Katoa, is in immigration detention appealing his looming deportation to New Zealand.