Clint Starkey murder: James Crane denied bail after murder charge

James Crane, 54, of Narara, unsuccessfully applied for bail after a court heard he acted as an intermediary in arranging the 2017 bashing murder of Clint Starkey at a Peats Ridge service station.

James Crane, 54, of Narara, has been charged with the murder of Clint Starkey. Picture: Facebook

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The brother of a Rebels life member allegedly acted as the “intermediary” in arranging the bashing murder of Clint Starkey, a court has heard.

James Crane, 54, of Narara, unsuccessfully applied for bail on Friday after he and his son Aaron, 25, were arrested during a vehicle stop on The Ridgeway at Lisarow in April.

James Crane was charged with murder while his son was charged with hindering an investigation into a serious indictable offence and tampering with evidence with the intent of misleading a judicial tribunal.

Aaron Crane was granted conditional release after his arrest with a court bail application hearing he had his dad’s Apple iPhone but instead of handing it to police, twisted it in his hands and smashed it on the ground.

James Crane’s solicitor Marc Riviere made a bail application at Gosford Local Court on Friday, where he argued phone tower signals put Mr Crane at Blackwall and Koolewong up to 10.30pm on the night Mr Starkey was driven to a Peats Ridge Service station.

James Crane has been charged with the murder of Clint Starkey. Picture: Facebook

Clint Starkey, 42, of Mangrove Mountain, was bashed to death. Picture: Supplied

Police allege Mr Starkey, 42, was set upon by several men at the service station shortly after midnight on April 6, 2017, and severely bashed.

He was later driven to Gosford Hospital where his head injuries were so severe emergency department staff thought he had been bludgeoned with an axe.

He was later flown to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he remained in a critical condition until he died on June 12, 2017.

Mr Riviere said Mr Crane simply lived behind the service station and had called the man who drove Mr Starkey to the location while Mr Starkey was in the car.

He said if Mr Starkey “got wind” Mr Crane was co-ordinating other bikie members to attend the location at that time he “would not have remained in the vehicle”.

He said intercepted phone calls showed Mr Crane actively advised other co-accuseds not to interfere with witnesses and offered to “go to court” to prove he had nothing to do with the murder.

“The police case is extremely weak,” he told the court.

“Police use words like ‘believed’ and ‘suspected’. But suspicion and belief do not get over the evidentiary hurdle (of beyond reasonable doubt).”

Aaron Crane (centre) with his father James Crane (right). Picture: Facebook

However the Crown Prosecutor argued while it was a circumstantial case it was “far from a weak case when all the strands of circumstances are brought together”.

He said phone records showed Mr Crane was the “intermediary” who was “one of the main players” in organising the bashing.

A court has previously heard the bashing was sparked when Mr Starkey allegedly threatened to shoot up the house of Mr Crane’s brother Colin Steven Crane, 50.

It also heard Mr Starkey allegedly reversed his car at Colin Crane, and had an argument with his girlfriend — just days before he was fatally bashed.

Mr Riviere said the police facts were quite clear Colin Crane was a life member of the Rebels and a chapter president who would have “not needed an intermediary to rally the troops”.

Magistrate Ron Maiden said he was satisfied there was enough evidence for a jury to potentially find James Crane “implicitly involved” in the enterprise and no bail conditions could mitigate his flight risk or the risk of interfering with witnesses.

Mr Crane was adjourned to July 19 when four of the nine men charged over Mr Starkey’s murder are due to reappear at court.

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