Sunday, December 30, 2007

Spun & the feckless

Police allege they found concealed weapons in a car they stopped in Maddington, and subsequently searched a High Wycombe property. A 38y/o High Wycombe man - a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club was charged with aggravated possession(?)of an unlicensed firearm; and possession of unlicensed ammunition, a prohibited weapon, dope & a billy, and will appear in Armadale Court on Jan 2. A 29 y/o was also charged with possession of a "controlled weapon."

Apparently we have disgraced former police minister, John D'Orazio, to blame for daylight savings - nice of him to put his hand up. (Link contains page-3-girl for the Irish contingent).

Police arrested an East Victoria Park man who they say indecently assaulted a girl he met at the Burswood Casino, who he took back to his EVP home. The man allegedly indecently assaulted her and then tried to physically restrain her from leaving the house.

A young Perth woman was caught up in a modern-day recreation of the nativity, on Christmas Day in the back seat of the Holden as it was going through the Graham Farmer Tunnel. Police officers played midwife, delivering the first of the twin girls, and the second was brought into the world by attending ambos. It must have made a welcome change for those attending the call, who so often have to deal with people who are at the other end of their lives on Perth roads over Christmas.

There was more excitement on the Graham Farmer Freeway over the Christmas break, when the big ol' "BAD Bus" actually got 6 positive results out of 41 drivers tested for drugs, though they estimate 700 drivers were stopped for vehicle and licence checks. Perhaps WAPOL should offer Tupperware bonuses...

Speaking of bonuses... the Purana Taksforce Phase One initiative has made a profit after the capture of Tony Mokbel of around 500%, with their investigation costing $11.3 million and yielding $60.5 million. The taskforce claim Phase 1 resulted in 58 arrests for 298 charges, and 6 high-level rollover witnesses. Hopefully they'll roll some of that profit into their witness protection program.
Rove will be hosting a new series on his 2008 shows, called Tony's Army about a 'wig-wearing roustabout' and his rag-tag crew of fellow inmates...

Delivering the news that the Australian public 'really want to see,' tabloid journalism reached new heights(or depths) in 2008.(courtesy of the Perth Norg)

Melbourne crime guru - Gary Hughes reveals the reasons why death sentences were changed to life sentences.

Bah humbug

So for those who aren't already tragically aware, over Christmas, Perthites' got to pay for all their misdeeds in three particularly unholy days. Some, more than others.

Each year, hot days regularly produce widespread blackouts as Perth's consumption exceeds electricity supply. With the resources boom(that has been so proudly touted by both state and federal government), an extra 2000 people come to this sprawling metropolis each week, and clearly, the infrastructure cannot even support those who are already here.

A number of attempts to fix the problems with electricity supply in summer have fallen short and a defensive stance by the state government and the beleaguered Synergy(if that's the name the power company's using this week) means that householders are ill-prepared to put sensible limitations on their consumption. Advertising campaigns advising locals to use power more wisely have mysteriously disappeared from the airwaves, and consumers are now seemingly once again being encouraged to switch off their minds, switch on their air-con, and "buy, buy, buy," like there's no tomorrow.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Days of owl eyes

Belmont, the land that drug enforcement forgot, has seen a few minor raids in the last 2 weeks. On Wednesday Dec 12, police happened upon a hydro set-up in an empty warehouse on Belmont Ave. Police say they seized four kilos of dope and hydro equipment after discovering 78 cannabis plants about half-a-meter tall growing in three rooms. More of those mysterious Where's Wally weapons of mass-destruction(crossbow, nun-chucks and a machete) were allegedly found in this raid, and just as in recent raids on OMCG clubhouses - again no weapons charges, "as yet." The 26 y/o occupant of the warehouse was arrested and charged with one count of cultivation and possession of a prohibited plant with intent to sell or supply and possession of a billy.

Last Monday, police allege they also found a vast array of drugs and weapons in a house in Keymer St, Cloverdale. They charged a 49 y/o woman, a 43 y/o man and an 18 y/o man with possession of dope, LSD, speed, coke & ecstacy. In this instance, police took the unusual step of laying charges over the alleged discovery of a sawn-off shotgun & ammo, 22 calibre rifle, paint-ball gun (are they illegal?), tasar, 2 crossbows and fireworks(weapons?).

On trial once again for the murder of Clare Garabedian in a motel room in Rivervale's 'Bronx' area, Martin Graeme Coates, was found guilty of being part of a group of people who killed the Perth woman by administering a heroin overdose and then suffocating her. While courts and the public have heard time and again that Ms Garabedian was a prostitute at the time of her death, there has been little mention that she had converted to fundamental Christianity and was attempting to extricate herself from the Perth underworld. Ms Garabedian - a crown witness whose life was worth only $2000, died ten years ago at the age of 21 as she was due to testify against Coates and Kaylene Hoy over an assault. Hoy and co-accused Thomas Nicholls were gaoled for life for their involvement, and their co-offender, 'Mr X,' traded info on the murder for a lighter sentence. This was the second time Coates has been found guilty, this time, by a judge alone. His lawyer Laurie Levy said they would appeal the judge's decision.


On the 13th, Former WA police officer Christopher Ronald White was sentenced to 18 months for importing child pornography. It was only earlier this year that the same former police officer was given a suspended sentence for indecently filming two minors and prior to that had been deported from Thailand for allegations of inapproriate relations with a child.

Perth Airport, in Belmont, was charged with defacing an Aboriginal heritage site.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Like blamonge through the hour glass

So this week, the 2003 police royal commission hearings finally started to weed out some of the small fry. Former Fremantle detective Paul O'Keefe was found guilty of perverting the course of justice when he tipped off Tyssul Davies about an upcoming drug raid on his home. Mr O'Keefe has been remanded in custody, presumably Canning Vale Remand Centre, until sentencing in February. After the royal commission Fremantle CIB received a shake-up from the then newly appointed commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan, in an effort to change the culture of the group, and Freo detectives had to do away with their distinctive skull & crossbones tie pins.

Things have been eerily quiet in the Belmont region lately, (besides the machete attacks last week, that is) but apparently there was a home invasion in The Bronx in Rivervale on the weekend, and last week a Carlisle man was charged for a random stabbing at the local Gull servo on Great Eastern Highway & Orrong Rd(also in Rivervale).

WAPOL's drug testing BAD Bus has taken another hit, when it was recently revealed that out of 2741 drivers only one had tested positive - who woulda thunk Perthites were such sober drivers, particularly after the stats used to justify taking away Perth drivers' civil liberties for the venture. The figures touted by police showed a large number of drivers involved in accidents in Perth have been imbibing in illicit substances.

Andrew Mallard said "nothing less than an apology" would satisfy him after the lawyers for police assaulted his character, at the CCC inquiry into his wrongful imprisonment. The hearings of the Mallard inquiry have now concluded and the findings are yet to be handed down into whether Mr Mallard was simply incarcerated by accident, or if he was verballed by senior WAPOL detectives and the DPP. Mr Mallard has also called for an apology from the appeals judge who sent him back to gaol wrongfully.
MP John Quigley, who helped extricate Andrew Mallard from the murder sentence, had his lifelong membership to the WA Police Union revoked, after he revealed in parliament the name of a former undercover officer who allegedly planted evidence on Mallard, and then avoided public scrutiny because of his secret identity. Union officials claim the public outing of the former officer was an outrage, and that Quigley, their own former defense lawyer, had endangered the man who is no longer an undercover officer, and doesn't work for WAPOL in any capacity whatsoever. It would be interesting to see what other revelations Quigley could offer on the embattled police service. Apparently the union doesn't have any problem with the other 4500 WAPOL officers having to use their real names.

South Hedland woman Jeanie Angel was wrongly gaoled for the murder of another Pilbara woman in 1989. Ms Angel was illiterate and alleged in court this week she was harassed and intimidated into confessing to the murder, which she could not have committed. The court heard that police gave the real murderers, who eventually faced tribal punishment - but not gaol, a lift on their way back into town after they had committed the crime. The three were named to police but were never investigated or charged with the murder. During the three years Ms Angel was falsely imprisoned, her three year old son died of a brain infection and Ms Angel is seeking compensation for the wrongful conviction, and a public apology to help her overcome the trauma of losing her infant son.

Christmas is typically a time of year when people start to contemplate the loved ones in their lives, friends, family - or possibly the lack thereof. But for those of you without someone to shower Christmas presents on this festive season, perhaps you could invest in a friend.

And, speaking of furry friends... adventurer Esther Nunn, says throughout her travels she never gets lonely when she's with her camels. Having just completed a 5.5 month camel trek from Alice Springs in Australia's red centre to the WA coastal town of Shark Bay, she said that people who don't get caught up with societal entrapments such as work = kids = mortgage can "do anything" because they are "free to go." Nunn had to learn how to use a gun to protect herself on the journey, which she said she used to kill 2 wild bull camels that had posed a threat. Ms Nunn also clarified that the Australian bush isn't full of crazy people and axe murderers and that the former lighthouse caretaker didn't care about skeptics who thought she was mad to set out on the journey.
“Some things seem so big to take on you learn that nothing is impossible if you just keep going.”


A man died this afternoon after falling from his 4th floor balcony in the Perth hotspot of Scarborough. Few details have been released about the death, which occurred at the Observation Rise apartments that overlook the beach.

Police claim a raid on a Bunbury clubhouse belonging to the CC motorcycle group yielded articles of interest in relation to recent crimes in the metro area, but there's been no arrests.
Two 'high-risk' raids were also conducted on the Fremantle and Bayswater clubhouses last month, club members were handcuffed during the raids and weapons were seized. Similarly, at the time of those raids, police said there were grounds for serious charges but there have been no follow-up reports of charges having been laid. The humble punter's left wondering if the CCMG just have a really good coffee machine, or something?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

As the worm turns

Survivor Holly Deane-Johns, was convicted of heroin trafficking in 2003 and has languished for 7 years in a Thai gaol. This week will see her transferred to Perth to make a go of things & access to good healthcare, family and support networks, will better allow Holly to 'turn her life around.' The WA corrections minister, sadly, dragged her heels on the transfer for over a year, which then required the action of supporters in Australia and the former federal Liberal government to stir some compassion from the WA state government to allow her to return.


Johnny Montani will face a retrial over the shooting of bikie Kevin 'Mick' Woodhouse at the front of the Bayswater Waves complex in May 2004. A trial was dismissed by Justice John McKechnie in May, who said Montani had no case to answer for, and a subsequent appeal by the DPP means that he will have to stand trial yet again next May. Montani has recently been copping a lot of attention from Perth police and in the hearing last week, the prosecutor said they would seek his arrest if he does not return from overseas for the January mention. Woodhouse had been a member of the Club Deroes and left to join the Coffin Cheaters, and CD member Andrew Edhouse in a separate trial, was also acquitted of shooting Mick Woodhouse. Interestingly, McKechnie dismissed the previous trial against Montani saying there was not a 'skerrick of physical evidence' to link him to the murder, and there has been no suggestion of any additional evidence being presented by the DPP in their appeal against the acquittal.


Perth lawyer, Josephine Pepe, who represented police at the 2003 WA police royal commission, today pleaded not guilty of perverting the course of justice, over allegations she discouraged a witness from testifying against her former boyfriend. Pepe's then boyfriend, Julian Witana Murray, was accused of taking a payment to assault a pregnant woman, though the assault never happened. The judge acquitted Murray due to a lack of evidence.
Today in the Mallard inquiry Ron Davies QC representing Shervill, made some fairly unsavoury assertions about an innocent man, Andrew Mallard, who was falsely imprisoned for 12 yrs for the murder of Pamela Lawrence and only freed as a result of the efforts of independent lawyers and an investigative journalist. If Jeremy Gormly's submission to the inquiry is anything to go on, former DPP Ken Bates may be feeling a little uncomfortable about the evidence presented and not presented in the Mallard trial.




The findings of the inquest into the death of Ngoongar father of 3, Carl John Woods, said police required greater training into the heightened risk of dying that some people face after 'physical arrests.' Coroner Evelyn Vicker also recommended that police operators relay up-to-the-minute information as situations develop, so that attending officers can make the most appropriate judgements about how best to handle incidents. Coroner Vicker also outlined discrepancies in evidence, and also, alternative options to using force to arrest suspects, such as chemical restraint with the help of ambulance officers.


Sergeant Brian Russell was found guilty on two counts of assaulting Darren Miller at the East Perth lock-up in January. Magistrate Pamela Hogan said though Miller's behaviour was testing, Russell failed to observe his duty of care to his prisoner and acted inappropriately. He was fined $1000 and was refused the chance to have his conviction spent and is also having his employment reviewed by WAPOL.


Former Fremantle detective Paul O'Keefe, is this week on trial for tipping off a mate about an impending drug raid on his house. Police failed to discover any drugs in the subsequent raid but the tip-off was taped by officers who had the suspect's phone bugged when O'Keefe allegedly called.


In sunny Karawara, police say a car-jacking went wrong for this man, who they allege tied up a family day carer and threatened her with a knife in front of the young children in her care.


More hijinx in Belmont - someone needs to explain, that's just not what meat cleavers are for.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Suspect missing

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Johnny Montani, who failed to appear in court to set a re-trial date for Kevin Woodhouse's 'gangland' style shooting in May 2005. He was previously acquitted of the shooting in May 2006. The DPP recently won an appeal to retry Montani for the murder, though no information is available about any new evidence presented to support the application.