The teenager charged with the drive-by murder of two men outside Melbourne nightclub Love Machine is the son of prominent underworld figure Nabil Moughnieh.
Jacob Elliott (also known as Jay Maghnie), 18, wept in court on Monday afternoon as police accused him of firing the gunshots that killed security guard Aaron Osmani and patron Richard Arow outside the Prahran nightclub on April 14.
Mr Elliott is one of the sons of Mr Moughnieh, 43, formerly known as Nabil Maghnie, who has links to the Comanchero motorcycle club.
Mr Moughnieh, who once drove himself to hospital in a critical condition after being shot in the head, fronted court as recently as June 27 over unrelated allegations that he was speeding at more than 200km/h when he was involved in a crash last month.
He is currently being held in prison on remand over the crash, and is also under investigation in connection to the Love Machine shooting.
Mr Moughnieh has been a significant figure within the Comancheros, the club suspected of being behind the 2016 arson attacks and drive-by shootings at strip club Kittens.
He and his associates were also the subject of a police raid in March last year that swooped on Melbourne law firms, accountancy businesses, brothels and tattoo parlours in a money-laundering investigation targeting the gang’s wealth.
Mr Moughnieh has not been charged in relation to those investigations.
His son appeared anxious in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday when he waved to about 10 family members. He stands accused of the murder of the two men and the attempted murder of three other people.
Each of the murder charges carries a 25-year prison sentence.
Prosecutor Mark Gibson, SC, told the court police were also investigating “potential outstanding co-offenders” and had “many, many hours” of CCTV footage to review.
Mr Osmani, 37, died outside the club’s entrance on Little Chapel Street, while Mr Arow, 28, died days later in hospital.
More than half a dozen bullets were fired towards them just after 3am on Sunday, April 14, from a stolen black Porsche SUV, which was found burnt-out in the suburb of Wollert later that morning.
Sources have told The Age that police were investigating if the attack was in relation to a dispute about people being kicked out of the club at a previous event.
A breakthrough came last week when police seized a Suzuki Swift believed to have been travelling in a convoy with the Porsche on the night of the shooting.
Police believe two men with suspected links to the incident tried to set fire to the car, but mistakenly torched another Suzuki Swift, owned by an innocent Queensland resident, that was parked on the other side of the street.
Police are still looking for a blue Holden Colorado believed to be connected to the torching of the Suzuki Swift.
Another major development came with Saturday’s arrest of Moussa Hamka, 25, who faced Melbourne Magistrates Court the next day accused of being an accessory after the fact to murder and assisting the principal offender.
Mr Hamka, who also goes by the name of Moses, was remanded in custody and faced court again on Tuesday for a short administrative hearing.
He sat in the dock looking straight ahead, while a woman sat a few metres away in the public gallery quietly sobbing.
Mr Hamka, who is also charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, did not apply for bail and answered “yep” when asked by the magistrate if he understood what was being discussed in court.
Mr Elliott was arrested in Southbank on Monday morning following a raid on a home in Melbourne’s north.
Several young men came in and out of the home throughout the morning with their faces covered by the hoods of their jumpers.
Mr Elliott was charged and faced court on Monday afternoon supported by about 10 people.
Mr Elliott’s lawyer, Philip Dunn, QC, asked that images of Mr Elliott’s supporters and home be suppressed for their own safety while “feelings are running a bit hot”.
“They are innocent bystanders in all of this,” Mr Dunn said.
One of Mr Elliott’s supporters angrily yelled in court when a reporter asked the magistrate to clarify the details of a suppression order, while some family members abused media outside court before they got in waiting cars.
Several of the supporters called out in support when the teenager was remanded and led out of the dock.
“Love you, Jacob,” one yelled out.
Others shouted, “Love you, Jay,” as Mr Elliott was led out of the courtroom.
Mr Elliott waved to the group as he left the dock.
He and Mr Hamka are due to return to court on November 18, while Mr Moughnieh is due to face court again on September 17.