How alleged Gold Coast bikie Shane Bowden killers were caught by police

One of the most notorious bikies was murdered in his driveway – see how police caught 10 men allegedly linked to the killing.

Gold Coast bikie Shane Bowden was murdered in 2020.

Mongol-turned-Finks enforcer Shane Bowden was gunned down by hooded men in a Gold

Coast driveway on October 12, 2020.

Bowden was a notorious bikie who was a part of the Finks “Terror Team” on the Gold Coast before patching over to the Mongols and moving to Victoria.

He returned to the city after he was shot in a Melbourne driveway on July 1, 2020 and defected back to his former club.

Shane Bowden was murdered on the Gold Coast on October 12, 2020. Picture: Supplied

A few months later, the bikie heavyweight was shot dead in his girlfriend’s luxury BMW after pulling into the garage following a late-night gym session. He was 47.

Bowden was living with Crystal Clement at her Pimpama unit at the time of his death. The vehicle he was gunned down in belonged to the Gold Coast nurse.

Police at the time of the shooting said the pair were in a relationship. On the day of the shooting Clement was visibly distressed when speaking with officers. She appears to have found a new flame, recently posting a collage of photos kissing and hugging a heavily tattooed man.

On her Facebook page, an ‘intro’ read: “We don’t meet people by accident, they’re meant 2 cross our path for a reason. Blessed with the best!” Clement has a past of dating crooks, including convicted drug Joshua Thornbury.

She was sentenced to three years’ jail, with immediate parole, in 2016 for her part in a scheme which enabled stolen vehicles to be rebirthed by a criminal network.

Police allege he was shot 21 times – 19 times with a machine pistol and twice with a shotgun.

This is how police were able to arrest 10 men allegedly linked to the murder.

THE BREAKTHROUGH

Following months of detective work, police had a new area of focus in their hunt for the killers of Bowden.

A crime scene was established at a rural property just outside of Fernvale, 20 minutes north of Ipswich.

The property was believed to be linked to the two cars used in the execution-style murder.

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Police said they would allege the Mongols were responsible for the murder and had spoken to about 20 Mongols in a week, but none co-operated.

The investigation took another major turn in June last year when CCTV footage helped police find more information about the events allegedly leading up to Bowden’s death.

FOOTAGE FALLOUT

CCTV footage showed vehicles driving past Bowden’s place several times in the weeks before the killing.

The vehicles were found abandoned and burnt out after the shooting.

They believed the footage and a $250,000 reward would also draw vital intelligence.

SEE THE VIDEO OF THE GETAWAY CARS

Weeks later, Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith said police found a tracking device on the slain bikie’s BMW, alleged to have been planted weeks before his killing.

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They believed they were closing in on potential suspects.

Just how many people were involved in the murder remained unclear, but police believed it was a highly planned operation involving multiple people.

CAPTURING THE CRIME

At the end of June 2021, CCTV that captured the chilling execution of Bowden was released by police.

Police alleged two men believed to be linked to the rival Mongols gang – one allegedly armed with a machine gun pistol and the other allegedly with a shotgun – shot Bowden before fleeing in a silver Commodore.

SEE THE VIDEO OF BOWDEN’S FINAL MOMENTS

Det Superintendent Brendan Smith warned gang members and associates that police were closing in and urged them to “save themselves” from potential lengthy jail sentences by coming forward with information.

“We are very close and I am very confident that we will come to a successful resolution,” he said.

“We want those (gang) members who are on the fringe of this offence to understand how much we do have.

“If they want an indemnity (from prosecution) or a reward, they now need to come forward.”

CHARGES LAID

In July last year, police made a breakthrough when alleged Mongols bikies chapter president Ian Ronald Crowden was charged with Bowden’s murder.

The following day seven other alleged members were arrested. They were Haydn Thomas Forbes – the son of bikie boss Nick “The Knife” Forbes – Junior Jasmine Torope, Fidel Gunes, David Steven Meatuai, Junior Jasmine Mau’u, Joshua James Small and Peter Michael Cummins.

Haydn Forbes (centre), son of Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang heavyweight Nick ‘The Knife’ Forbes, is behind bars, accused of the execution-style murder of Shane Bowden. Photo: Supplied Facebook

They were each charged with one count of murder serious organised crime.

All eight were being defended by lawyer Michael Gatenby, who said it was not a “total surprise” to the men that they were persons of interest given the extensive ongoing investigations.

“At the moment it seems some of the charges are quite spurious,” Mr Gatenby said outside court in July 2021.

Two more men, Adam John Murphy and Jake Taylor, were charged with murder shortly after, bringing the total to 10.

After the arrest, Det Superintendent Brendan Smith said police had “decimated a whole chapter of the Mongols” – a claim labelled by the accused’s lawyer as grandstanding.

At the time, Superintendent Smith said police would allege the incident “involved significant planning by those involved resulting in a long and complicated inves­tigation”.

Police allege Bowden was being monitored and a GPS tracker had been planted on his car in the lead-up to the shooting.

The charges remain before the court.

LATEST

At the end of last year, Haydn Forbes, 25, brought in the new year behind bars on remand after a failed attempt at freedom.

The former Logan private school boy was refused bail in Queensland’s Supreme Court in December in a last-ditch attempt at freedom before the Christmas holidays.

He was the first of the 10 bikie-accused to make an application for bail.