Witnesses to Love Machine shooting to face special hearings
Security guards who witnessed the deadly Love Machine nightclub shooting will be forced to give evidence, in a tactic usually associated with high profile gangland cases. It comes as invesigators probe a link to an eviction from the Prahran venue.
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Witnesses to the deadly Love Machine nightclub shooting will face special court hearings where they will be grilled under oath about what they saw.
It is believed two security guards will be compulsorily examined next week, as the homicide squad investigates if the killings were linked to an eviction from the Prahran venue.
The pair have not given statements voluntarily and are scheduled to be forced to give evidence in front of a magistrate on Monday.
It is unclear why they have not co-operated with police but they are not considered to be suspects in the shootings.
The witnesses would be expected to give evidence of the chaotic April 14 scene after a Porsche SUV sprayed bullets towards the nightclub’s line at 3am.
Security guard Aaron Osmani and nightclub patron Richard Arow died after the shooting. Two men have been charged with their murder.
The security guards are likely to be questioned about the removal of one of the charged men’s associates from the club hours before the shooting.
The forced hearing tactic — used to compel uncooperative witnesses — are more usually associated with high profile gangland cases.
In some instances, police have used the measure against those who felt frightened to voluntarily tell the truth about what they knew and others whose loyalties made them stay silent. Those who do not answer questions risk criminal charges.
The Herald Sun understands those who are scheduled to be examined at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday in the Love Machine matter are “peripheral” witnesses and not offenders.
Investigators clearly believe they have information they have been unwilling to share.
Jacob Elliott, 18, has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of Mr Osmani and Mr Arow. He has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Mr Elliott is the son of underworld figure Nabil Maghnie, who also has come under scrutiny over the shootings. Mr Maghnie is linked to the Comanchero bikie gang.
Mr Elliott’s friend Allan Fares, 22, has also been charged with two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.
Moussa Hamka, 25, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, possessing a firearm, stalking, making threats to kill and other offences.
The investigation remains ongoing as detectives look for offenders who torched vehicles allegedly used in the shooting. The Porsche SUV was found burnt out in South Yarra.
A Suzuki Swift, the type of car seen driving in convoy with the Porsche on the night of the shooting, was also incinerated in Simmonds St, South Yarra, three days later. But it is believed the wrong Swift was burnt, leaving vital evidence in the suspect car.
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The compulsory tactics were used in the gangland war as police investigated Mick Gatto over his shooting of hitman Andrew Veniamin.
They applied in Melbourne Magistrates Court for Ron Bongetti, Steve Kaya, Faruk Orman and Geoffrey Reading to be forced to reveal what they knew.
Gatto was ultimately acquitted by a Supreme Court jury of Veniamin’s murder on the grounds of self-defence.