Murder charges dropped over savage jailhouse bashing

Prisoners accused of carrying out a “dirty dog” attack on an inmate who later died will not be charged with murder.

Mark Pollard died in February 2020 after the jailhouse attack.

Prisoners will face only robbery and assault-related charges over the savage jailhouse bashing of an inmate who died days later.

The men had been facing murder charges over the death of Mark Pollard at maximum security Port Phillip Prison in February last year.

Pollard, 48, suffered horrific injuries and died in hospital three days after he was attacked in the jail’s Gorgon wing.

Five prisoners were later charged with the murder of Pollard, whose ring and sneakers were stolen in the aftermath of the onslaught.

But defence lawyers successfully argued a jury could not find the bashing was the cause of Pollard’s death, because of an underlying bowel condition.

Three of the men will appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court next month.

Mark Pollard died after being assaulted at Port Phillip prison.

Abdulkadir Ali, 34, Salah Abukar, 26, and Justin Ibrahim, 26, face counts of robbery and intentionally causing injury.

Charges against Riyad Jamal Ahmed, have been dropped.

Witness testimony read in court during the July hearing revealed horrific detail about the assault, in which it is alleged Pollard was attacked from behind.

“They were dirty dogs, five on one,” a prison witness said.

Pollard’s sneakers and a sentimental ring were stolen in the violent ambush.

The court heard Pollard suffered broken ribs, a fractured sternum and a punctured lung in the attack.

Crown prosecutors said the five men were involved in a plan to rob Pollard but defence lawyers successfully argued a jury could not conclude the alleged bashing was the cause of his death, because of an underlying bowel condition.

Pollard suffered broken ribs, a fractured sternum and a punctured lung in the attack.

Salah Abukar’s defence lawyer Patrick Doyle said Pollard had been in and out of hospital before his death and had suffered from vomiting, rectal bleeding and abdominal pain.

“His condition was already severe,” Mr Doyle told the court.

“He died because his bowel died. Broken ribs don’t kill your bowel.”

Forensic evidence showed the major artery to Pollard’s abdomen had become blocked, and the blood supply to his bowel had been cut off, meaning toxins leaked into his body and poisoned him.

Magistrate Andrew McKenna ruled the men should not face trial on the charges of murder or manslaughter.

He said that although an expert medical witness had testified the death occurred “in the setting of blunt force injuries”, the necessary connections between the alleged bashing and Pollard’s death had not been made.

He ruled a properly instructed jury “would be incapable of accepting the cause of death as being attributable to the accused”.

The accused will next face court on October 29.

Pollard’s sister Amanda said in the aftermath of her brother’s death that he was a gorgeous man who had “so much going for him”.

“Mark was a tortured soul but never a violent criminal,” she said after his sudden death.

Ms Pollard said her brother had a tough upbringing, as their parents both died at a young age which contributed to Mark mixing with the wrong crowd and experimenting with drugs.