Vane Stojcev: Alleged West Footscray gunman faces court

A man who allegedly threatened a man and a woman with a gun during a “terrifying” exchange in West Footscray has faced court.

Questions have been raised about the relationship between a man accused of threatening two people with a gun in a West Footscray apartment building and his alleged victims.

Vane Stojcev, 38, faced the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, on 14 charges including reckless conduct endangering life, assault with a weapon and impersonating a police officer.

Prosecutors allege the Thornhill Park man followed a man and a woman into the secure car park of a West Footscray apartment building on May 16, before drawing a semi automatic firearm and pointing it at the pair.

“The accused continued to approach the victims, stopping 10 metres from the front of the car and aimed directly at them,” First Constable Hayden Bennett alleged.

The couple fled the carpark, tearing the gate off its tracks as they sped out of the structure.

Despite a search of the area less than 10 minutes after the alleged victims called police, no one matching the description given was found.

Police launched a public appeal for information in June, with CCTV footage of the alleged offending airing on “all major news channels”.

Mr Stojcev was arrested the following month on July 18 by members of the special operations group in Ravenhall and held in custody over the alleged incident.

Police released CCTV in a public appeal for information following an alleged firearms incident on Roberts St in West Footscray. Picture: Supplied

In court, under questioning from defence lawyer Alex Cini, Constable Bennett revealed Mr Stojcev was known to the pair with “extensive conversations” found on his mobile phone.

The most recent alleged contact between the parties occurred on June 1 – two weeks after the alleged incident.

No evidence of any communication about the alleged offending was found, and the pair did not directly identify Mr Stojcev to police.

“Bro the one thing I hate the most is people that lie and talk s … to me,” Mr Stojcev is alleged to have sent in a text message.

Constable Bennett told the court police were still attempting to contact the alleged victims to ask about the nature of their relationship with the accused man.

Prosecutors opposed bail, saying there was an unacceptable risk of Mr Stojcev committing offences or interfering with witnesses, to which the accused man threw his hands in the air and shook his head.

Magistrate Rob Stary said it was clear there was further police work needed to understand the “significant personal relationship between the parties”.

But he denied Mr Stojcev’s bail, saying he had “no confidence” he would comply with the order.

He will return to court on September 14.