One lucky guy!
I guess this serves as a reminder of the risks that exists when doing surveillance, especially one up.
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/20 ... stice.htmlMay 09, 2009 12:00am
NEIGHBOURS watched as a bikie gang leader tortured a teenage insurance fraud investigator, a court has heard.
The attack happened in broad daylight on the biker's front lawn.
Rebels gang member Aaron Joe Thomas (AJ) Graham, 42, was jailed for at least 10 months yesterday over the terrifying sustained attack, which was captured on his own security cameras.
The Supreme Court in Hobart heard that on September 18 last year 19-year-old inquiry agent Lewis Marriott was staking out a suspected insurance fraudster in the Goodwins Rd area, unaware that Graham lived nearby in Saladin Circle, Clarendon Vale.
The young man was hidden behind bushes with a camouflage jacket, two-way radio, camera, dictaphone and other surveillance equipment.
Graham became aware of the agent's presence and was driven by his accomplice, Michael Glenn Preddy, to confront him.
They got out of the car and demanded to know what the young man was doing.
It would have been a menacing sight. Graham was wearing a Rebels top and large rings on each of his fingers spelt out the words "HARD CORE".
"The rings look like knuckle dusters," Justice Peter Evans said.
Mr Marriott was reluctant to move out from behind the bush but Graham said he had a gun.
When the teenager refused to get into Preddy's car, Graham said he would use the pistol and made a motion as if to pull something from behind his back.
Mr Marriott got in.
They drove to Graham's unit, which had several security cameras attached to it.
Graham got out of the car and Mr Marriott asked Preddy if the biker was going to kill him.
"I don't know," Preddy told him.
The terrified young man was guided to a chair on the front lawn and what happened next was recorded by Graham's security cameras.
The tapes were later seized by police and used in court as evidence.
Graham "goaded, abused and assaulted" Mr Marriott in front of some passers-by who stopped to look, Justice Evans said.
The biker told his young victim to look at the Rebels flag flying on top of his unit and then punched him twice to the face.
"Each punch was sufficient to dislodge the defendant from the chair and cause him to bleed from the face," Justice Evans said.
The judge said it was "deplorable" that several people watched and made no attempt to stop the violence.
"Their presence seemed to encourage the defendant," Justice Evans said.
Graham punched the teenager again, knocking him to the ground.
He then grabbed Mr Marriott's two-way radio and struck him to the head with it several times before poking him in the eye with the aerial.
As Graham continued to punch and kick him, Mr Marriott managed to flee.
Justice Evans said the teenager suffered cuts to his face but, "to his credit", went back to work two days later.
"Nevertheless, it is inevitable that what occurred will have a lasting impact on (the victim)," he said.
"I am in no doubt that had it not been for the composure and level-headedness displayed by the complainant in responding to the defendant's abuse, that what occurred could have been far worse."
Graham was found guilty of two counts of assault.
Justice Evans sentenced him to 15 months in jail.
He can apply for parole after serving 10 months.
His co-accused, Preddy, 32, of Clarendon Vale, was released on bail before sentencing on June 24.
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