Frederick Tuifua, 26, pleads not guilty to murder of Canberra Comanchero boss Pitasoni Ulavalu
A western Sydney man has pleaded not guilty to murdering top Canberra bikie Pitasoni Ulavalu during a brawl, paving the way for a murder trial.
Canberra Star
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The western Sydney man charged with murdering top Canberra bikie Pitasoni Ulavalu has pleaded not guilty, paving the way for a murder trial next year.
Frederick Elijah Mercy Tuifua, 26, of Silverwater, entered a not guilty plea on Monday, three weeks after he was arrested and charged.
Three co-accused, Maximilian Budack, Matthew Kupu and Osaiasi Kupu also faced court on Monday, where prosecutors downgraded their charges from higher level affray to a lesser version of the same offence.
Two other men, whose names are suppressed, are due back in court at a later date.
All of the men have been remanded in custody, although none of the four men with court listings on Monday appeared in person.
Budack is still nursing wounds, after he was shot in the face in what police believe was a reprisal attack.
The affray charges relate the those men’s alleged involvement in a punch-up, during which Tuifua is accused of stabbing and killing Ulavalu, the president of the Canberra chapter of the Comanchero outlaw bikie gang.
None of the men applied for bail, despite affray not typically attracting an actual jail term.
Tuifua’s not guilty plea means he is likely to face a marathon murder trial next year.
There were nearly 100 people at Kokomo’s bar in Canberra when violence broke out, some of whom have told police they fear being targeted for reprisals if they co-operate with investigators.
Police have been tight-lipped about what they believe sparked the brawl between the Comanchero group and the men who have been charged.
According to police, the group of men allegedly ran from Kokomo’s after Ulavalu was killed, changed their clothes and dumped the knife in a stormwater drain.
