Preston man charged over Love Machine nightclub murders
A 22-year-old man, the third person charged over the deadly Love Machine nightclub drive-by shootings, has made a brief appearance in court.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The latest man charged over the fatal Love Machine nightclub shootings has made his first court appearance.
Allan Fares, 22, from Preston, was arrested on Wednesday morning and appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court in the afternoon charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
Wearing a white collared T-shirt and with his head bowed, Mr Fares did not say anything throughout the brief administrative hearing.
His lawyer told the court Mr Fares’s young age would make him vulnerable in custody.
He was remanded to reappear for committal mention on November 18.
Mr Fares waved to a young woman and man in the court as he was lead away by custody officers.
Mr Fares was arrested at 6.55am in Preston.
He is the third person to be charged over the terrifying April 14 attack.
Security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani, 37, and patron Richard Arow, 28, were killed and four others were injured when the Prahran nightclub was sprayed with bullets from a stolen Porsche SUV about 3.10am.
The arrest is the latest in a series of breakthroughs in the investigation.
On Sunday police charged Epping man Moussa Hamka, 25, with being an accessory after the fact to the murders and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
And on Monday the son of Melbourne suspected gangland figure Nabil Maghnie, Jacob Elliott, was charged with two counts of murder.
TEEN SON OF GANGLAND FIGURE
The teenager charged over the Love Machine drive-by double murder has been revealed
as the son of another suspect in the Love Machine shootings, Mr Maghnie.
Mr Elliott appeared sobbing in court after being charged by homicide detectives.
It was also revealed on Monday that Mr Maghnie, who has twice survived being shot himself, was a suspect in the Love Machine killings and had been investigated by police.
Sources say Mr Elliott and Mr Maghnie are “very close”.
It is unclear whether police will allege Mr Elliott had been in the club on the night of the shootings.
It is believed as many as four people were involved in the shooting that night, and others in events that followed.
There was a bungled attempt to get rid of a car used in the shooting.
An investigation involving homicide squad officers and gangland investigators appears to have gained momentum in the past week.
Last Wednesday, police revealed the torching of a Suzuki in South Yarra three days after the shootings was linked.
Detectives believe it was incinerated to destroy evidence like DNA and fingerprints but the arsonists who returned to the scene burnt the wrong Suzuki.
The right one was found over the road.
Less than a day after the Suzuki link emerged, Maghnie was charged over a high-speed crash in May in which he allegedly ploughed into a roundabout at Woodstock while travelling at an estimated 200km/h.
Investigators believe they found the murder weapon, seizing a handgun during a search on Sunday.
READ MORE: TORCHED CAR NIGHTCLUB DEATH CLUE
LOVE MACHINE OVERCROWDING CLAIMS
Mr Elliott briefly faced court on Monday, with his lawyer telling the court his arrest was a “misunderstanding.”
He wiped away tears as the courtroom, which was filled with young men and women supporting him, heard it was his first time in custody and was vulnerable due to his young age.
It is believed Maghnie would be under the tightest of security while on remand.
His notoriety has the potential to make him a target and he is a suspect in a number of involved shootings around Melbourne over the years.
Some of the victims may still hold ill-will towards the 43-year-old.
Mr Maghnie once drove himself to hospital after being ambushed and shot as he sat in his car.
He has also brawled with members of the Mongols motorcycle gang and has allegiances with the Comanchero bikie outfit.