Charges dismissed against ex-Nomads boss Bradley Bowtell in relation to death of Ian Pullen

A magistrate has dismissed charges against a former Nomads boss, ruling police had not proven he knowingly concealed the 2018 death of a New Zealand firefighter pilot.

A magistrate has thrown out the case against a former bikie boss accused of concealing the death of hero firefighter Ian Pullen in the Hunter Valley.

Police alleged Bradley Robert Bowtell, 38, shared information about Mr Pullen’s death in messages to family and friends, and that he accused one of his workers of the hit-and-run when questioned by police.

Charges against Bradley Bowtell have been dismissed. Picture: Dylan Robinson.

The former Newcastle City Nomads chapter president was charged with two counts of conceal a serious indictable offence and one of hinder the investigation of a serious indictable offence.

He previously pleaded not guilty to the charges in Muswellbrook Local Court, and on Tuesday faced a hearing where the magistrate ruled there was no case to answer.

The court heard Bowtell sent an Instagram message to his brother Wade, also a Nomads bikie, in October 2018, that read: “I know who hit that fellah (sic) up the road”.

In September 2019 he sent a news story on Mr Pullen’s death to his girlfriend, with a message that said: “Apparently the detectives are coming to see me … member (sic) me telling you bout (sic) this wen (sic) it happened?”

Lawyer Roland Day said Bowtell did not dispute sending the messages, but they did not prove he was withholding information from detectives.

Ian Pullen, who was found dead at Singleton in September 2018, and his wife Vicki. Picture: Supplied.

Police further alleged Bowtell wasted police time and resources by pointing the finger at one of his workers for Mr Pullen’s death.

But in dismissing the charges, Magistrate Bree Chisholm said Bowtell may have believed he was helping the investigation.

“No doubt people were talking,” Ms Chisholm said.

“They were talking because this was a tragedy in a small community where it affected so many different people.

“It was alive in the media.”

Mr Pullen, a New Zealand firefighter pilot, was in the country to help fight out-of-control bushfires when his body was found on the side of a Singleton road on September 29, 2018.

The 43-year-old father-of-three’s death was treated as a standard hit-and-run until a $350,000 reward prompted an anonymous tip that turned the case on its head.

Joshua Knight has been charged with failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing death. Picture: Facebook.

Nicole Mason has been charged with attempted murder. Picture: Facebook.

Police allege Joshua Knight, 29, was driving with Nicole Mason, 30, and Lilli-Jane Kay Sales, 21, when he accidentally hit Mr Pullen with his Toyota HiLux ute.

They further allege the vehicle returned to the scene minutes later where Mason beat Mr Pullen to ensure he was dead.

Police allege Sales waited in the car at the time, and Ivy-Jean Ward, 27, helped hide the vehicle later on.

They further allege Sales’s father, Mark Sales, 47, hindered the police investigation by trying to cover up what his daughter and her friends had done.

Knight, Mason, Sales Jnr, Sales Snr and Ward remain before the courts.

Bowtell appeared in court via video link from jail where he is serving a minimum 12-month sentence for ice supply.