CCTV: Nathan and Aaron Hayes sentenced for shooting up Blackheath pub
Two brothers will serve at least three years behind bars after shooting at a rival group inside a Blackheath pub. See the terrifying CCTV footage.
Police & Courts
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This CCTV reveals the harrowing moment two brothers were caught on camera walking into a Blue Mountains pub and opening fire with home made pistols — but when the police came asking questions they insisted they were at home watching Titanic.
Nathanael and Aaron Hayes were drinking in Blackheath in September 2019 when they took offence at another group of men and decided to get revenge.
CCTV obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows the moment they walked in the emergency exit of the pokies room and took aim at their target before fleeing.
Penrith District Court, on Monday, sentenced both men to just over five years in prison with a minimum of more than three years.
Court documents revealed how the Hayes brothers had dramatically escalated the confrontation in the hours leading up to the attack.
A witness told police he watched an irate Aaron Hayes making a gun and then a cutthroat warning as one member of the rival group left the pub earlier in the evening, court documents say.
The Hayes brothers decided to stock up on beer and head home, while there they picked up two pistols.
The CCTV shows a member of the rival group opening the emergency exit in the pokies room only to see the brothers standing on the other side.
The man is seen fleeing the VIP room as the Hayes brothers open fire, missing their target, and running back out the door.
When police finally arrested the brothers they denied it had been them shooting up the pub — they were at home watching Leonardo DiCaprio‘s romantic overtures in Titanic.
Aaron’s girlfriend, Bonnie Sander, told police the same.
Police were even told Aaron Hayes had been singing the movie‘s iconic theme, My Heart Will Go On, in the shower.
But text messages between the lovers reveal Aaron told Ms Sander: “I want to show him who he is f***ing with just a little longer” in the minutes before the attack.
Ms Sander is not accused of any wrongdoing.
The brothers were initially charged with shoot with intent to murder, gun supply and manufacturing among numerous other offences.
The pair were accused of manufacturing pistols and shotguns at Nathanael’s Little Hartley home.
But the most serious shooting charge was downgraded to firing a gun with a disregard to safety to which the brothers pleaded guilty.
Multiple gun supply charges were withdrawn at sentencing on Monday.
Their high profile lawyer, Omar Juweinat, could not be reached for comment and has previously declined.
The men will first be eligible for release in 2023.
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