Cops charge pair with attempted murder of former detective Sid Morgan in Point Cook
Two men wanted over the shooting of an ex-cop in Point Cook have been charged with attempted murder, after being arrested near Byron Bay yesterday.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two men wanted over the shooting of an ex-cop in Point Cook have been charged with attempted murder.
Homicide Squad detectives arrested Mark Dixon, 30 and Jack Harvey, 26 at Broken Head, NSW on Wednesday.
The pair were each charged with one count of attempted murder after the alleged shooting in Melbourne’s west last week.
Victim Sid Morgan, 53, continues his fight for life at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Heavily armed officers yesterday stormed a Byron Bay motel in search of the men.
But a raid of the venue failed to turn up the pair, found south west of Byron Bay.
The pair were arrested in Broken Head, New South Wales and are due to appear in Byron Bay Courthouse later today.
TWO ARRESTS AFTER POINT COOK MAN ‘SHOT IN FACE’
Former Sydney detective Sid Morgan, 53, was shot in Spraypoint Drive about 11pm on February 21.
He remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
It is believed a major police operation in Byron Bay’s Suffolk Park on Tuesday morning — during which heavily-armed officers surrounded a hotel for a tense 90 minutes after receiving information two ‘high risk’ suspects wanted for arrest were holed up inside — is linked.
But Victoria Police on Tuesday night could not confirm the link.
PREVIOUSLY: EX-DETECTIVE TARGET OF SUSPECTED HIT
A former detective acquitted of murder was the target of a suspected hit shooting which has left him fighting for life.
Sid Morgan, 53, remains in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Two Point Cook men, aged 29 and 30, were arrested on Saturday and quizzed by Homicide Squad police over Thursday’s attack in a Point Cook street and have been released pending further inquiries.
Members of the police search and rescue team will search the lake at Sanctuary Lakes today as part of the investigation.
The Sunday Herald Sun has confirmed Mr Morgan, who worked as a real estate agent in Sydney after leaving the NSW police force, had a history of failed business dealings, bankruptcy and debt.
A close associate said Mr Morgan was a “wheeler and dealer” in constant financial strife.
“He’d gone bust a few times,” the associate said.
“I know he owed people a lot of money … he got himself into a lot of trouble.
“He was constantly living on the edge financially.”
The Sunday Herald Sun understands Mr Morgan only recently moved to a property in Spraypoint Drive and may have been working as a local handyman.
He was found bleeding in the middle of the street after being shot in the face at close range during an argument about 11pm.
It can be revealed Mr Morgan in 1995 shot and killed his brother-in-law Mansour Suha in Oakhurst, west of Sydney, after learning he had been charged with molesting three girls.
He was acquitted of murder and later reinvented himself as a high-flying real estate agent.
NSW police called him the “white whale”.
Company records show Mr Morgan was the director of six deregistered businesses.
They include three property businesses, a legal firm, a financial service and marketing and promotional agency.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission notified an intention to wind up his most recent venture, Morgan Realty Enterprises, in March last year.
Mr Morgan was declared bankrupt in February 2014, shortly after most of his businesses were ceased.
Other records show he was ordered by the courts to pay $66,167 to four creditors, including real estate advertisement agencies.
LAWYER X EXPOSÉ TO BE ADAPTED FOR TV SERIES, BOOK
BURNOUT SECONDS BEFORE FIERY TRUCK CRASH
“He had an attitude that it was OK to owe money,” the associate said. “He owed money for ads, to suppliers, vendors …”
It is understood Mr Morgan had plans to resurrect his failed “virtual office” business, which he pumped with funds before it was stopped operating six years ago.
He had been travelling between Melbourne and Sydney where he was still working as a real estate agent.
The properties he managed included a $8 million seven-bedroom home in up-market Lane Cove.
Neighbours said cars frequently visited Mr Morgan’s home, including a ute similar to one captured on CCTV speeding out of the street after the shooting.
Police said investigations continued. No charges have been laid.