Five charged over Craigieburn bikie-linked murder of Robert Issa
Mr Issa, 27, had been sitting in a white Mercedes in Craigieburn Central shopping centre car park when gunmen sprayed the car with bullets, killing Mr Issa and wounding his friend Eric Catanese in early October 2023.
A burnt out Black Range Rover was found in the nearby suburb Westmeadows a short time later.
Homicide Squad on Thursday arrested five men as part of their investigation into the fatal shooting of Robert Issa in a Craigieburn carpark in 2023. Picture: Supplied
On Thursday morning, Victoria Police took a 29-year-old Kew man, a 31-year-old Mickleham man, a 33-year-old Pascoe Vale man and two 26-year-old Fawkner men into custody.
Following interviews, all five men were charged with murder, attempted murder and criminal damage by fire.
The reasons behind Mr Issa's killing remain unclear.
However, he was thought to be closely associated with a figure linked to the Comanchero bikie gang, who was suspected of playing a role in a string of retaliatory firebombings targeting businesses and residences throughout Melbourne, the Herald Sun reported.
Robert 'Rony' Issa was shot and killed at Craigieburn Central shopping centre in 2023. Picture: Supplied
Five people have now been charged over the death of 27-year-old Robert Issa. Picture: Supplied
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said on Thursday the men arrested were likely only 'foot soldiers' and those responsible for planning the attack remained at large.
'We believe these men were likely the foot soldiers who carried out the murder, but we believe there are also people further up the chain who are responsible for ordering this attack,' he said.
'This shooting was incredibly violent and it played out in a shopping centre carpark in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday.'
Detective Inspector Thomas said despite the arrests, the investigation was not over.
'We will do everything we can to hold accountable every single person involved in this shooting,' he said.
'You know you are part of that chain, now is the time for you to come and speak to us, because this may be your last opportunity.'
The five men were due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.
Robert White
Cadet
Robert got his start as an Editorial Assistant at the Daily Telegraph in 2024 before entering the Newscorp cadet program. With a background in history and law Robert has a passion for politics and crime reporting as well as telling meaningful stories.
@white_robb73416
Robert White
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
5 minutes ago
- ABC News
Man sentenced for lighting own unit on fire out of frustration at noisy neighbours
A Canberra man who tried to claim he was acting in self-defence when he set his own unit on fire, because he was frustrated after years of loud music from his neighbour, has been sentenced for arson in the ACT Supreme Court. Steven Kazmar-Hall, 39, was found guilty of arson after he set the fire in April last year. The court heard he had run up the street afterwards to escape the fire. The court rejected his self-defence argument that he had set the fire out of frustration because of mental health effects from noise he had endured for three years. Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen said in her judgement, the fire left the home uninhabitable, although it did not spread beyond his unit. The evidence presented in the trial included photographs of the "sizeable sound system" that was used by the neighbour in his unit. Acting Justice Christensen said it was a serious offence that put other vulnerable residents at risk. "Not only was their safety, and their lives, put at risk, but a number of tenants seemingly experienced significant distress from the fire," Acting Justice Christensen said. "The offender himself at the trial described that there were people 'screaming' after his conduct." But Acting Justice Christensen said Kazmar-Hall's culpability was reduced. "This would lead to significant distress and frustration for anyone, let alone a person suffering the mental health challenges of the offender." But Acting Justice Christensen said it was still serious offending. Kazmar-Hall has been in custody since the fire. He was sentenced to eight months in jail, but was freed after the sentencing because he had already served his time.
ABC News
35 minutes ago
- ABC News
Before the Falconio trial, Bradley John Murdoch was accused and acquitted of rape and abduction
Before Bradley John Murdoch was arrested for English backpacker Peter Falconio's disappearance and the attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees, the killer faced charges of raping a woman and her 12-year-old daughter. WARNING: This story contains content that some readers may find upsetting. He was eventually acquitted of all charges relating to the case, but the events of the alleged 20-hour kidnapping ordeal that were relayed in the South Australian District Court have some similarities to the Falconio and Lees case. In 2003, more than two years after Murdoch had killed Mr Falconio at Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory, a court heard the mother and daughter, who were allegedly abducted from their Riverland home, were also bound, gagged and sexually assaulted during the 20-hour ordeal. The mother, who cannot be named, told the court that as the alleged incident came to an end, she did not know if she and her daughter would survive. "After the trailer was packed up, he sat near the trailer staring at us … and I didn't know if he was going to let us go or not," she said in 2003. "Are you going to kill us?" she asked. In the South Australian case, Murdoch was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of abduction, assault and two counts of indecent assault, but he was later acquitted. According to the court transcripts, Murdoch, who died on July 15, had been a regular guest at the Riverland home the mother and daughter shared with the mother's de facto partner, who was away receiving cancer treatment in Adelaide. They had known each other for 18 months. It was alleged that when he stayed, Murdoch used a small guest house at the back of the property as an occasional base for his drug-running operation between the Riverland and Broome, in Western Australia. On his last visit to the property in August 2002, Murdoch, who the court heard was using amphetamines and cannabis daily, put black plastic on the windows of the small flat. The court heard on the pretence of helping him unpack maps, Murdoch asked the 12-year-old daughter to come out to the guest house before he allegedly raped her. "I think he said: 'If you move, I'll give you brain damage'," she told the court. She said Murdoch carried her out to his LandCruiser and chained her up before going inside to the main house to abduct her mother. Prosecutor Liesl Chapman, now District Court Judge Liesl Kudelka, said in her opening statement to the jury that Murdoch told the mother: "Shut up and put some warm clothes on" before he took her outside. "The accused was wearing a gun in his shoulder holster," Ms Chapman said. "She saw the LandCruiser and [her daughter] in the back. "The accused said to [her], 'I need some insurance to get away from this place, get in the back or I'll shoot you'." The prosecution said that Murdoch had spoken about the disappearance of Peter Falconio several times before and during the abduction. "[The mother] asked the accused, 'Why are you doing this?'" Ms Chapman said. "He said words to the effect, 'you were in the wrong place at the wrong time'. "He said that the cops had framed him for the Falconio murder and that's why he was on the run. "He kept saying that he was being framed." Ms Chapman said he told the mother he was going to Western Australia to kill a fellow drug associate and planned to turn the gun on himself. "The Crown case is that his state of mind about being framed for a very high-profile murder explains his extreme criminal behaviour in South Australia," Ms Chapman said. "He was paranoid that he was being set up. "He was using amphetamines, commonly known as speed, which … can increase paranoia. "At that stage he didn't care anymore, he raped a 12-year-old girl and then took her and her mother as insurance in order to get out of there." Bradley John Murdoch's defence team argued in court that the case against him was a "made-up story". The court heard that there was a "conspiracy against" Murdoch created by his enemies, to frame him for the murder of Peter Falconio and that the claims of rape, abduction, assault and sexual assault were part of a "set-up". Just three days before he arrived in the Riverland, Murdoch's brother had given DNA evidence to Northern Territory police and the Falconio investigation team had Bradley Murdoch in its sights. The court heard in the early hours of Thursday, August 22, 2002, Murdoch drove away from the Riverland property with the mother and daughter shackled in the back. "I did what I was told because he had a gun," the mother said in court. "I was so scared I didn't know if he was going to shoot me and [my daughter]. "She [the daughter] was white as a ghost and she was terrified." The mother said they were initially handcuffed, and Murdoch stopped the LandCruiser three times over the next 20 hours, during which he was also alleged to have raped the mother. He also bound them with cable ties, similar to the ones used when Murdoch abducted Joanne Lees. She described him at one point as like "a raging bull". "He was verging on psychotic, like really angry and terrifying," the mother said. Eventually, she demanded Murdoch cut the cable ties off as they were hurting their wrists and cutting her daughter's circulation. The court heard the mother told the accused he was "pathetic for tying up a 12-year-old child". Then the court heard his mood changed, he brought clothes out for the pair and became "more sympathetic". "To me it seemed like he thought that he had done nothing wrong and he was just talking to us normally like he used to when we used to be friends," the mother said. The court heard he eventually dropped the pair at a Port Augusta service station and gave them $1,000 to get home, before allegedly making a final threat to kill them if they went to police. The mother and daughter said even after being released they remained fearful that he was still in the area watching them. They caught a cab to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where the mother's partner was, but a report wasn't made to police for another five days. Murdoch was arrested by heavily-armed police outside a Port Augusta supermarket, and was remanded in custody to face court in South Australia. Inside the LandCruiser after Murdoch's arrest police alleged they found chains, clothes, cannabis, methamphetamine and $5,000. But, during a two-week trial, the prosecution failed to make its case and Murdoch was acquitted. Seconds later, as he walked out of the court, he was arrested inside Adelaide's Samuel Way building for Peter Falconio's murder and the abduction of Joanne Lees and escorted through a media scrum outside. He was then taken to Darwin where he was found guilty in 2005. Central Queensland University criminologist, Associate Professor Xanthe Mallett, said while there were obviously similarities between the Falconio and Lees case and the Riverland allegations, ultimately the South Australian jury could not be convinced of Murdoch's guilt. "It is a big deal to come forward, it turns your life upside down, it re-traumatises the victim-survivors and so to go through all of that and then for the perpetrator to be found not guilty is heartbreaking," Dr Mallett said. "We are talking 20 years ago, if there was gap between the alleged crime and somebody reporting then that certainly made it harder to prove … and sex crimes are very hard to prove anyway. Dr Mallett said it could be very hard to prove criminal cases beyond what a jury considered reasonable doubt. "Even if, on the balance of all the evidence, they think they probably are [guilty], that doubt is what makes the difference and that can be a very difficult level to achieve," Dr Mallett said. South Australia's Commissioner for Victim's Rights Sarah Quick said sexual assaults remained difficult to successfully prosecute, in part, because victims' evidence was often "fragmented, confused, and non-linear recollections are common". "The cumulative effect of giving evidence, being cross-examined, and then not being believed is deeply distressing," Commissioner Quick said. "Research demonstrates that harmful misconceptions and stereotypes about sexual assault remain widespread."
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Port Lincoln locals react to shock discovery of human skull in Tamika Chesser case
Port Lincoln locals Katie and her friend were walking up Slipway Rd on Thursday afternoon. Just moments earlier, police had announced they had discovered a human skull in the walking trails and scrubland between Slipway Rd and Hindmarsh Rd on the eastern edge of the popular fishing town. The discovery marked another grisly twist in the Tamika Chesser case, which has sent shockwaves through the small and close-knit Eyre Peninsula community. 'I'm relieved for the family, it's a bit of closure for them,' Katie said. 'But I feel devastated for the person that found it.' Tyson McCallum was also walking in the area when his dog Benji the Beaglier found what police believe is a human head. 'I just went in a bit closer and kind of made the connection pretty quickly as to what I thought it was,' he told 9News. '(It was) pretty surreal to be honest,' he added. 'I was kind of like 'No way, it's not what I think it is, surely not'. But it was too coincidental.' Ms Chesser, a former Beauty and the Geek contestant, is accused of murdering her boyfriend Julian Story at the pair's Port Lincoln unit around midnight on June 17. Police allege she also dismembered Mr Story's body, removing his head. Ms Chesser was then allegedly captured on CCTV in the hours afterwards walking with a bag, dogs and dressed in heavy clothing. She was arrested on June 19 and charged with murder and destroy human remains. South Australian Police and SES volunteers fanned out across the town to search for Mr Story's missing remains in the days and weeks following the alleged murder, but the search was suspended last week. But in a shock development, police announced on Thursday afternoon they believed they had found Mr Story's head. A resident walking their dog found the skull and reported it to the authorities, police said. 'Preliminary investigations and phone calls to forensic science centre (indicate) the remains are most likely human, and I believe they are the remains of Julian Story,' Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said. 'To confirm this, those remains will be subject to further testing over the coming days. Mr Story's family have been contacted and updated on next steps, the Superintendent said. Katie's friend, who did not wish to be named, said she was no longer worried she would 'stumble across it'. Katie said the discovery would likely reignite interest among locals in the case, which has gripped the town over the past few weeks. 'It's going to go mental,' Katie said. Ms Chesser's case has generated widespread interest because of her glamorous former life and the brutal nature of the alleged killing. Greg, who has lived in Port Lincoln since the 1970s, said locals discussed the case regularly. 'It was a gruesome bloody incident,' he said, speaking before Thursday's discovery. 'This town, we've never had anything like that before.' Harley Hozer, who lives across the road from the unit complex where Ms Chesser and Mr Story lived, said the allegations had 'shook the town'. 'It shook the town a little bit,' she told NewsWire. 'We've dealt with some crime before but nothing like this. 'It shocked me, that's for sure.' Police cars and cops patrolled the entry points to the scrubland across Thursday, with police line closing off the area. Detectives could be seen walking into the trails. That same day, Ms Chesser appeared at Port Lincoln Magistrates Court at 9.30am on three separate matters. Police allege she behaved in a disorderly manner at a tobacco store on Port Lincoln's Liverpool St and at the Port Lincoln Police station, both on February 14, 2025, It is further alleged she assaulted a woman on November 1 last year. It is listed as a summary offence, meaning it is considered a low level of offending. She is also alleged to have assaulted a police officer on June 20 this year, one day after she was arrested for the alleged killing of Mr Story. The 34-year-old woman appeared via AVL from James Nash House, a psychiatric facility, where she greeted the magistrate and answered questions for the first time in court. She sported a shaved head and wore a blue sweater and greeted Magistrate Patrick Hill with a 'hello'. Justin Slater, a solicitor with the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, represented her in court. He told Mr Hill he had ordered 'reports' into the charges. 'We are doing our own reports in relation to these matters,' he said. He asked Mr Hill to adjourn matters until a charge determination had been made for Ms Chesser's more serious allegations and Mr Hill agreed to the request, setting December 18 at Port Lincoln for the next hearing. When asked if she understood her hearing would be adjourned, Ms Chesser replied: 'Yep'. Mr Slater declined to comment on the charges or Ms Chesser's condition after the hearing. Thursday's hearing marked the second time Ms Chesser had fronted court following her first appearance at Adelaide Magistrates Court last month on the murder and destroy human remains charges. Those matters are listed to be heard in Adelaide on December 12. Mr Story was a Port Lincoln local, while Ms Chesser had only recently moved to the area from Queensland. She starred in the second series of the hit reality TV show Beauty and the Geek in 2010, finishing in second place. She has also worked as a model for a range of brands including Target and appeared in men's magazines including Ralph and FHM, a profile for her on Star Now states. Her Instagram and Facebook social media profiles are filled with racy and glamorous images. A funeral service for Mr Story is expected next week.
