NewsBite

Breaking

Adelaide High school ambush quartet sentenced for killing Victor Codea as SA judge reveals crime’s link to Finks outlaw bikie gang

The four men who killed Victor Codea have begun hefty prison terms as a judge revealed the crime’s previously unknown ties to the infamous Finks bikie gang.

Kain Mazomenos, Thomas Pinnington, Jeremy Dale Sandell and Thomas Nichols killed Victor Codea, right.
Kain Mazomenos, Thomas Pinnington, Jeremy Dale Sandell and Thomas Nichols killed Victor Codea, right.

The “cowardly, ruthlessly efficient” and fatal Adelaide High School ambush of drug dealer Victor Codea was motivated by “retribution” and a desire to defend an outlaw bikie gang’s reputation, a judge says.

On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Adam Kimber said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that at least three of Mr Codea’s killers were tied to the Finks Motorcycle Club.

He said Kain Mazomenos – who has the number 13 tattooed on his face – is a Finks member, while his co-offender Thomas Nicholas had hoped to join the gang.

Fellow killers Jeremy Dale Sandell and Thomas Pinnington, he said, were friends with the duo and well aware of their outlaw affiliations and aspirations.

Justice Kimber said the August 2020 attack upon Mr Codea was only partially motivated by his bad online reviews of drugs sold by Sandell.

He revealed the quartet also believed Mr Codea had written other online comments saying “all Finks are f**ked” and calling Mazomenos a “Finks dog”.

Nichols, Pinnington, Sandell and Mazomenos were acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.
Nichols, Pinnington, Sandell and Mazomenos were acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

“Each of you believed (the reviews) breached what was expected of those in the drug world, and your motivation for the attack was retribution,” he said.

“Mazomenos, Pinnington and Nichols, I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt the three of you were motivated to act in the belief the Finks had been disparaged.

“I do not find that the attack was sanctioned by the gang or was, what might be termed, ‘club business’ … but you ensured it was carried out with ruthless efficiency.

“This attack was well planned, well co-ordinated and executed by the combined efforts of you all – it was also a cowardly attack.

“You are all responsible for each and every blow.”

Nichols, 32, Sandell, 26, Mazomenos, 27, and Pinnington, 26, were acquitted of murder – Sandell pleaded guilty to, while the others were found guilty of, manslaughter.

Previously, their counsel claimed the quartet were merely “bullies” and “keyboard warriors posturing”, and were contrite for their crimes.

Kain Mazomenos, left, with his bikie father Shane Bowden.
Kain Mazomenos, left, with his bikie father Shane Bowden.

In sentencing on Friday, Justice Kimber said the group had done nothing “consistent with true remorse”, and their expressions of regret were mostly self-serving.

He said Mazomenos – son of slain Gold Coast bikie Shane Bowden – had “shown no remorse at all”.

“Though one must not overlook the role of your father in leading you to join a gang, there’s nothing to suggest you were not a willing member at the time of this offence,” he said.

Justice Kimber said Sandell and Mazomenos were the “prime movers” in the plan to attack Mr Codea, and jailed them for 15 years and 13 years respectively.

He ordered Sandell serve a 11 ½-year non-parole period, while Mazomenos must serve a minimum of 10 ½ years.

He sentenced Nichols to 11 ½ years with a seven-year non-parole period, and Pinnington to 11 years with an eight-year, 10-month non-parole period.

Originally published as Adelaide High school ambush quartet sentenced for killing Victor Codea as SA judge reveals crime’s link to Finks outlaw bikie gang

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaide-high-school-ambush-quartet-sentenced-for-killing-victor-codea-as-sa-judge-reveals-crimes-link-to-finks-outlaw-bikie-gang/news-story/a585c718e2cb3e52da8a328dc05552f1