Bandidos found not guilty of shooting associate Ashley White

Two alleged Bandidos bikies accused of shooting an associate during a confrontation over a stolen gun have been found not guilty.

Two alleged Bandidos bikies accused of shooting a man during a confrontation about a stolen gun have been found not guilty of the crime by a District Court jury.

Sean Brian Irwin and Kenneth James Whittaker were each charged with one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, relating to the shooting of associate Ashley White on a deserted road at Samsonvale in July 2019.

Prosecutors had alleged Mr White was shot in the shoulder by Whittaker who had confronted him about stealing a gun from another Bandidos member Joshua Smith which he then used to pay a drug debt.

“The Crown case is that Whittaker shot Ashley White and Irwin was his accomplice and as such was criminally responsible for the actions of Mr Whittaker,” Crown Prosecutor Michael Gawrych said on the first day of the trial.

But in her closing address, Whittaker’s defence barrister Kim Bryson put to the jury they could not trust White, who she described as a “liar” and a “leech”.

Two alleged Bandidos bikies accused of shooting a man during a confrontation about a stolen gun have been found not guilty of the crime by a District Court jury.

She submitted he had been motivated to give false testimony when he believed he could get a ‘letter of comfort’ from police which he believed had the potential to reduce his sentence on unrelated charges.

He ultimately did not receive the letter because his charges were domestic violence related.

Ms Bryson urged the jury to consider the possibility that White had taken the gun to the meeting himself because he believed a man who had severely beaten him days earlier would be there.

The man, Andy the Candyman, had attacked White two days earlier on July 11 over an unpaid drug debt and left him with significant facial injuries including a broken nose and suspected fractures to his eye socket and cheek bones.

Ms Bryson said White was left handed and was shot in the right shoulder, and an expert who gave evidence at trial could not rule out the possibility the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

The trial began in the Brisbane District Court on Thursday and the jury was sent out to begin deliberations about midday Tuesday.

They returned a verdict in less than three hours.

Originally published as Bandidos found not guilty of shooting associate Ashley White