Gang member gets the word ‘dog’ tattooed on his forehead to escape the Finks bikie club
Ty Jaques and Brent Oliver were members of the Finks bikie club in 2017, charged with participation in a criminal group. Both paid a high price to get out of the gang.
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Two former bikies will look to re-establish their lives after a whirlwind 2017 where both became members of the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang.
Ty Jaques, 29, was a member of the Finks for a period of eight months, joining when the turf war with the Nomads in the Hunter was at its height.
In Newcastle District Court last week, Judge Roy Ellis said Mr Jaques’ membership at the bikie club was terminated after he entered into an interview with police.
He said Mr Jaques was savagely assaulted by Finks members for breaching the rules, and the injuries included tattooing the word dog on his forehead, which he’s since had difficulty removing, wearing a bandaid to cover it.
The court heard Brent Oliver, 27, was also a member for five months during the same period, but determined he did not want to remain and paid a $10,000 exit fee in August, 2017.
Both pleaded guilty to participate in a criminal group, contribute to criminal activity and were sentenced on Friday.
Judge Ellis said both men had signed rules to join the group in 2017 and had described it as a low point in their lives, attracted by the camaraderie at the club at that time.
“It was a rather naive decision to join,” he said.
“He (Jaques) was suffering Post-traumatic stress disorder being present at work when a person was shot and then (the gunman) turned the gun on himself … he was on compo and receiving psychiatric treatment.
“He (Oliver) and his partner suffered a miscarriage and he had just been terminated at his mine as it closed down.”
The court heard Mr Oliver has some criminal matters in which he served custody, but there had been no offending since his exit from the Finks two years ago.
“It didn’t take long for him to realise he was involved in criminal behaviour,” Judge Ellis said.
“He has been able to re-establish his life, working in another mine and looks after his daughter while his partner works.”
Mr Jaques’ matter was judged at a higher criminality compared to Mr Oliver’s, in which Judge Ellis said he was present during a drive-by shooting with military style weapons in his time at the club.
In an unrelated matter, post bikie days in November 2018, Mr Jaques was also charged and pleaded guilty to intimidate/stalk a Crown witness on social media.
That matter will be dealt with in Maitland Local Court in December.
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In sentencing both men Judge Ellis said: “The courts had to give some meaningful action to deterrence.”
Both men avoided jail time, Mr Oliver will serve an 18-month community corrections order, which requires no supervision, while Mr Jaques was given a 16-month conditional intensive corrections order.