County Court: Mongol Robbie Hurmiz pleads guilty to daylight shooting in residential street

A Mongols bikie took pot shots at a car parked in a suburban street during a revenge attack over a mate’s ex-girlfriend.

Mongol bikie Robbie Hurmiz will wait at least a month to hear how much longer he will spend in custody over a daylight shooting.

A Mongols bikie has fired a gun into a parked car, narrowly missing those inside, during a revenge attack over a mate’s ex-girlfriend.

Robbie Hurmiz, who was a sergeant-of-arms for the Mongols at the time of the 2022 attack, fronted the County Court on Wednesday along with a co-accused Gabriel Verigos.

Hurmiz faced charges for multiple firearm offences, including being armed with intent and discharging a firearm at a vehicle with reckless disregard for safety, assault, theft of a motor vehicle, driving while unlicensed and fraudulent use of registration plates.

He pleaded guilty to the charges.

Verigos answered charges of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person, assault, possessing a drug of dependence, driving while disqualified and fraudulent use of registration plates.

He also faced a string of charges relating to two unrelated car crashes including dangerous driving, causing serious injury, failing to render assistance, failing to provide his name and address at the scene of an accident, driving while disqualified, and breaching a bail condition which prohibited him from driving.

The court heard that on July 20, 2022 Hurmiz teamed up with Verigos and another man to lure a 21-year-old man to a South Morang street.

The man had recently added the ex-girlfriend of the third co-accused on social media and she had gone on to talk to him about the break-up.

Prior to travelling to South Morang, the trio met up at a Kalkallo house where they armed themselves with a sawn off firearm and a handgun.

They also switched the registration plates on the white Toyota Kluger they travelled in to South Morang.

During the journey to South Morang a photo was taken on a mobile phone showing the weapons and white face masks inside the Kluger.

Hurmiz. spent his early years in Iraq, at the time of the US invasion..

The revenge attack was not “Mongols business”.

The Kluger arrived at Nivea Terrace, South Morang about 2.41pm and eventually pulled up alongside the victim’s vehicle, a gold Ford.

Hurmiz was the driver, Verigos was in the front passenger seat and the third co-accused was in the back seat.

Hurmiz and Verigos donned the white face masks and the co-accused pulled up a black neck gaiter to cover his face.

The co-accused said to the victim “I told you I would get you,” and tried to pull him out of the Ford.

The court was told Hurmiz brandished the handgun through the Kluger window and fired it twice at the Ford.

One of the shots hit the driver’s side mirror and continued through the car window before hitting the steering wheel column.

The bullet narrowly missed the victim and the co-accused.

The victim ran from the Ford before returning to the car where he was attacked by the co-accused who tried to put him in a headlock.

The court heard Verigos exited the Kluger with the sawn off firearm and joined the co-accused in a physical attack on the victim.

The pair repeatedly hit the victim before he managed to get to his feet and walk away.

Hurmiz brandished the hand gun from the front seat of the Kluger, cocking the weapon and attempting to fire it, while the co-accused used a screw driver to slash at the tyres of the Ford.

The co-accused got back in the Kluger, which was driven away by Hurmiz.

Ballistics experts later found two spent rounds on the road, three live rounds and a single fired bullet inside the Ford.

A fingerprint found on the rear of the car was later identified as being left by Verigos.

The court was shown a video of part of the assault that was filmed by a witness on their phone.

CCTV footage from a property near the incident site was also viewed by the court.

Witnesses told police they heard gunshots and an ambulance was called.

The victim was assessed at the scene by paramedics but not taken to hospital and he “appeared uninjured”

The defence lawyer for Hurmiz said his client had intended only to frighten the victim, not shoot him.

“If it was a genuine attempt genuine attempt that he be struck, he would have been,” he said.

He acknowledged his client was a member of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang, however, the incident was not “Mongol business”.

“Not suggested in any way that this offending was related to club business or had anything to do with that club,” he said.

Hurmiz was a young man with a limited criminal past, and his involvement with the bikie gang provided “a sense of belonging and brotherhood”, he said.

“It never gave rise to any anti-social behaviour, let alone any criminal activity.”

The court heard Hurmiz was of Syrian background and spent his early years living in Iraq, just outside of Baghdad, during the 2003 invasion by the US.

“Any given day brought with it the possibility of exposure to gun fights, violence and bombings,” his lawyer said.

Hurmiz’s family fled Iraq and spent a year “holed up in Turkey” while securing passage to Australia.

The family arrived in Australia when Hurmiz was about eight years old.

He “did not speak a word of English” and struggled to assimilate into classroom life, leaving school after Year 8.

While he held a variety of jobs after leaving school, including working as a panel beater and a traffic controller, none of the roles translated into a meaningful career.

Hurmiz also started using drugs of dependence, starting with cannabis and progressing to methamphetamine and cocaine.

The court was told there was no suggestion that Hurmiz was under the influence of drugs at the time of the offending, but that his drug use was a “destabilising influence”.

Hurmiz’s lawyer said he had not come to court “armed with a psychiatric report” nor did he suggest his client suffered from an ongoing mental health complaint.

However, he said Hurmiz’s early years and experiences “remained relevant” to his ultimate sentencing.

He asked Judge Arushan Pillay to also take into account his client’s youth, his guilty plea and that he had the support of his family.

The defence lawyer for Verigos said her client was just 19 at the time of his offending.

She told the court her client had been dependent on methamphetamine since first trying the drug aged just 15-years-old.

The lawyer said previous allegations by police that Verigos had committed the offences to gain status with the Mongols were unfounded.

She said Verigos’ illicit drug use had brought him into contact with Hurmiz and the co-accused.

“He had no grievance with the victim … no reason to be involved at all,” she said.

“(It was) a demonstration of his immaturity and poor decision making.

“He said himself ‘It wasn’t my thing, I’m not known to be violent.’.”

The court heard that Verigos was involved in the physical assault on July 20 for “ten seconds”.

“(He was) either in the car or merely standing close by in an intimidatory role,” the lawyer said.

“The victim didn’t appear to suffer any injuries and while scared, no doubt, he is physically OK.”

Verigos’ lawyer said her client had shown genuine remorse and had been drug free since being taken into custody on August 9, 2022.

“He looks back with a clean mind and regrets everything he did,” she said.

“He accepts he has to be punished and deserves to be punished.”

She said Verigos “hoped the court accepts I am committed to changing my ways”.

The hearing was adjourned part heard.

Mr Pillay asked that Verigos be assessed for a Community Corrections Order.