Aaron Ong pleads not guilty to murder over shooting death of fruiterer Paul Virgona

A man accused of shooting fruiterer Paul Virgona as he drove along EastLink searched the internet for news of the incident, a court heard.

Aaron Ong is accused of following Paul Virgona from his home before he was shot on the freeway. Picture: David Crosling

A man accused of the execution-style shooting of fruiterer Paul Virgona on EastLink searched “Melbourne breaking news shooting” on the internet in the hours after, a court has heard.

Aaron Ong is on trial in the Supreme Court for the murder of Mr Virgona, 46, the owner of Virgona Fresh Produce in Thornbury, as he was on his way to work at Epping market at 2.15am on November 9, 2019.

It is alleged Mr Ong and mate, Josh Rider, lay in wait for almost two hours outside the suburban Melbourne home of Mr Virgona before they followed his van, spraying it with bullets on EastLink.

The court heard Mr Ong returned to his Chirnside home after torching the Mercedes used to commit the crime, and later used his housemate’s laptop to search for information about the shooting.

At 3.59pm, he allegedly typed into Google, “Melbourne breaking news”.

Over the next five minutes, he searched “Melbourne breaking news shooting”, “Melbourne breaking news shooting EastLink” and finally “Seven News”.

Aaron Ong has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Paul Virgona was shot dead during the highway execution.

Prosecutor Mark Gibson, KC, told the jury Mr Ong’s housemate was on a holiday in Queensland at the time.

The search history on the laptop would indicate it was last used on November 7 – the day his housemate flew out – when airport parking was searched.

Mr Gibson said it was the prosecution case that Mr Ong was using his housemate’s laptop to ascertain any information that was then known about the shooting crime scene.

On the first day of the trial for Mr Ong, 37, the jury was told how the plasterer and Mr Rider had met at their motorcycle club headquarters in Port Melbourne the night before the killing.

He said the pair left their mobile phones in Port Melbourne in “a deliberate act to avoid detection” before driving a stolen Mercedes to Mr Virgona’s Croydon house.

They entered Larissa Court, he said, and drove past Mr Virgona’s home where his van was parked, before doing a U-turn and exiting the street about 12.02am.

Virgona’s van abandoned on EastLink after he died at the wheel.

Two minutes later, the Mercedes was parked in Edward Court, facing towards Larissa Court, where it had a vantage point across Parrs Rd of Mr Virgona’s house.

At 2.02am, when Mr Virgona got into his van and drove out of his street, the lights of the Mercedes soon after turned on, and began to follow him.

Thirteen minutes later, Mr Virgona was dead.

Mr Gibson said the men followed Mr Virgona all the way to EastLink, where they then drove up beside his van and fired 11 shots from a 9mm semiautomatic handgun into the driver’s side door.

Mr Virgona, who was hit by the gunfire in the lower body at least seven times, lost control of the vehicle, which spun multiple times before coming to a stop near the Mitcham Rd overpass.

“Mr Virgona died seated at the wheel of his van, with his mobile telephone in his lap, and the engine still running,” Mr Gibson said.

Mr Gibson said Mr Ong should be found guilty of murder as he acting together with Mr Rider and “entered into an agreement to kill or cause really serious injury” to Mr Virgona.

“The Crown is unable to say which of Mr Ong and Mr Rider fired the fatal shots,” Mr Gibson said, adding that one took on the role as the driver, while the other was the shooter.

He said Mr Virgona had no criminal associations, nor any connections to any outlaw motorcycle gangs.

“There is nothing in Mr Virgona’s background that explains why he was targeted,” Mr Gibson said.

The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.