Salim Mehajer botched fake car crash attempt, court hears
Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer botched his first attempt to stage a “deliberate low-speed” car crash, a court has heard.
Salim Mehajer bungled his first attempt to allegedly stage a car crash and had to do a lap of the block before causing the collision, a court has heard.
The former Auburn deputy mayor has been accused of planning the crash in Sydney‘s west in October 2017 alongside his good friend Rafi Noori in an attempt to duck a court appearance.
Mr Noori, who was in the front passenger seat of Mr Mehajer’s white Mercedes at the time, is facing a judge-alone trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, charged with staging a motor vehicle collision with intent to pervert the course of justice.
He has pleaded not guilty to helping to communicate with the other car to facilitate the allegedly staged accident.
The court heard that Mr Mehajer and Mr Noori were in contact via mobile phone with Ahmed Jaghbir, who was in the back seat of the other vehicle, a grey Mitsubishi Overlander.
But despite their best efforts to co-ordinate the crash – at the intersection of Nicholas Street and Delhi Street, Lidcombe -– Mr Mehajer’s car arrived at the scene early and had to do a lap of the block, prosecutor Tony McCarthy told the court.
“Both phones were on loudspeaker,” Mr McCarthy said in his opening address.
“The crown says that two male voices were heard over the phone talking to Jaghbir.
“As it turned out the Mercedes got to the intersection too early and had to go around the block and come back to the intersection again.
“On the second run, the crown says that this accused (Mr Noori) assisted in co-ordinating the movements of the white Mercedes and the grey Mitsubishi over the phone so that the two cars deliberately had a low speed collision.”
The crown has alleged that Mr Mehajer staged the car crash in order to get out of a court appearance on the morning of October 16.
He was set to face a Local Court hearing over assault allegations, and they had to be adjourned as a result of the crash
At the crash scene he complained he couldn’t move because of neck and back pain and had to be cut from the vehicle before being taken to Westmead Hospital.
“The objective, the crown says, was to provide a false excuse for Mehajer not to appear at court that day and therefore to avoid the hearing of those criminal charges,” Mr McCarthy said.
Last week, Mr Mehajer’s long-awaited trial was pushed back until the middle of next year following a decision to face a jury.
He was scheduled to stand trial alongside Mr Noori however had a last-minute change of heart and elected to not face a judge-alone trial.
In March, Jaghbir was sentenced to 19 months in jail, with 10 months non-parole, for his part in the scheme.
As well, last month he was found guilty of being an accessory before the fact to the murder of underworld figure Kemel “Blackie” Barakat.
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