Sunshine Coast chapter Bandidos president Kenneth James Whittaker and vice president Sean Brian Irwin appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court for a committal hearing today over attempting to kill associate Ashley Richard White, 37, just north of Brisbane last year.
The two were arrested at separate properties in Samsonvale and Caboolture in December last year.
Irwin is accused of organising a meeting with White in July 2019 at Samsonvale while Whittaker is accused of shooting White after confrontation about White’s unpaid drug debt.
Police say Whittaker shot Mr. White after he tried to flee the scene, and the bullet grazed the man’s chin and then hit him in the shoulder.
Ashley Richard White said that he went to the meeting at Samsonvale by the reason he had been bashed a couple of days before and allegedly that was one of the topics of the meeting.
As Courier Mail reports, once White arrived to the place of the meeting, he saw Whittaker with a handgun.
Just before he was allegedly shot Mr White believed he overheard Whittaker saying “we’re conspiring against” him.
“I thought that it was because (a person) had gone around Kenny to source drugs,” he said.
Mr White told the court he butted into the conversation to say “we weren’t conspiring against him”.
“I tried to butt in and then that’s when it happened,” he said.
Whittaker’s barrister Kim Bryson grilled Mr White about his various police statements accusing him of lying.
“I didn’t lie,” he said.
“There’s a lot to remember, it was a pretty intense night.”
In police statement last month White admitted acquiring four ounces of methamphetamine and supplying a firearm to someone in return for drugs, the court heard.
Now Ashley Richard White is in custody and had been placed in separately from those involved in the attempted murder case for his own protection.
Irwin’s barrister Doug Wilson is making a no case to answer submission on the attempted murder charge later today.
The attempted murder charges were earlier amended by the prosecution with reference to the defendants being participants in a criminal organisation being removed.
Magistrate Anthony Gett committed both men to stand trial in the Supreme Court for allegedly attempting to murder Mr White.
Whittaker will also stand trial for dangerous conduct with a weapon.
Irwin, who has been charged as a party to the alleged attempted murder, had a bail application refused.
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Eric Silbermann for biker-news.com