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A junior bikie who shot up a former gang leader’s home has been “used up” by the Comancheros and has realised they do not care about him, but he is unable to leave, according to his barrister. But a prosecutor argued in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday that those claims were meaningless because the “utterly remorseless” Axel Sidaros was quite likely still “boots and all in”. Sidaros, 26, was one of four men who carried out a fiery attack on former Canberra Comanchero commander Peter Zdravkovic at the victim’s Calwell home in June 2018. Dramatic home CCTV footage of the incident shows Sidaros and one of his unknown co-offenders shooting at their deposed former leader, who had angered the Comancheros by burning gang colours and refusing demands to give up valuable items including motorcycles. One bullet blew off part of a finger on Zdravkovic’s left hand, while a fire, lit by the offenders as they fled, engulfed three of his cars. Sidaros was originally sentenced to 14 years in jail, with an eight-year non-parole period, after being found guilty of seven charges including the attempted murder of Zdravkovic. He successfully appealed against his convictions, however, and faced a retrial that resulted in him being acquitted of attempted murder but found guilty again of the other six counts. The remaining charges included arson and intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm. When Sidaros’ latest sentence proceedings began on Monday, barrister Murugan Thangaraj SC said his client’s new sentence should be “several years” shorter in light given there was no longer a suggestion that the attackers had been trying to kill Zdravkovic. He told the court Sidaros was “an immature young man” who had been desperate for the acceptance of a Comanchero chapter led by Pitasoni Ulavalu. But he said things had changed since the time of the offending, with Mr Ulavalu having been killed in a stabbing last year. “The person he idolised is no longer there,” Mr Thangaraj said. The senior barrister also referred to a letter written by Sidaros to fellow gang member Khaled Khoder during his time behind bars on remand, saying the 26-year-old had described feeling “hopeless” because “the boys” were not coming to visit him. “It’s starting to dawn on him that these people don’t really care about him,” he said. Mr Thangaraj said other intercepted correspondence revealed that at least some senior Comancheros thought of Sidaros in “disparaging” terms. It appeared that as far as the gang was concerned, the senior counsel said, Sidaros had served his purpose. “He’s been used up,” Mr Thangaraj said. The court heard that Sidaros was still a member of the Comancheros, but Mr Thangaraj said expert evidence showed how hard it was for a person to leave without repercussions, even when they were not locked up alongside other members of the gang. “He is doing what you’d think he needs to do to survive [by remaining a member],” the barrister said. But Crown prosecutor Trent Hickey said there was no evidence that Sidaros wanted to cut ties with the Comancheros. “He remains utterly unremorseful,” Mr Hickey said. “You might think that if he didn’t want to be part of this lifestyle, it would eke out somewhere.” Mr Hickey questioned why Sidaros could not just leave the gang if he wanted to, saying the claims made by Mr Thangaraj were “meaningless” and lacking any supporting evidence. “We don’t know that [Sidaros] is not boots and all in [with the Comancheros],” he said. The prosecutor told the court that while the attempted murder charge was no longer a factor in sentencing, Sidaros’ actions on the night of the “ferocious attack” were still “very serious”. He said there was “not a whole lot of difference” between shooting at someone to kill them and firing with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm. “Right-thinking members of the community watching this [CCTV footage] must think it’s outrageous,” Mr Hickey said. “It’s pure luck that [the offenders’] shooting didn’t cause more injuries.” Justice David Mossop said he would hand down a sentence on Tuesday afternoon. For faster access to the latest Canberra news, download The Canberra Times app for iOS and Android.
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Junior bikie ‘used up’ but unable to leave gang, barrister claims
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A prosecutor says the claims are meaningless, however, saying the “utterly remorseless” offender may still be “boots and all in”.
news, crime,
2021-02-15T15:30:00+11:00
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https://players.brightcove.net/3879528182001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6212984640001
CCTV of the June 2018 incident at the Calwell home of Peter Zdravkovic.
A junior bikie who shot up a former gang leader’s home has been “used up” by the Comancheros and has realised they do not care about him, but he is unable to leave, according to his barrister.
But a prosecutor argued in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday that those claims were meaningless because the “utterly remorseless” Axel Sidaros was quite likely still “boots and all in”.
Sidaros, 26, was one of four men who carried out a fiery attack on former Canberra Comanchero commander Peter Zdravkovic at the victim’s Calwell home in June 2018.
Dramatic home CCTV footage of the incident shows Sidaros and one of his unknown co-offenders shooting at their deposed former leader, who had angered the Comancheros by burning gang colours and refusing demands to give up valuable items including motorcycles.
One bullet blew off part of a finger on Zdravkovic’s left hand, while a fire, lit by the offenders as they fled, engulfed three of his cars.
Axel Sidaros, who will be sentenced on Tuesday over a fiery attack on a former bikie boss.
The remaining charges included arson and intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm.
When Sidaros’ latest sentence proceedings began on Monday, barrister Murugan Thangaraj SC said his client’s new sentence should be “several years” shorter in light given there was no longer a suggestion that the attackers had been trying to kill Zdravkovic.
He told the court Sidaros was “an immature young man” who had been desperate for the acceptance of a Comanchero chapter led by Pitasoni Ulavalu.
Canberra Comanchero commander Pitasoni Ulavalu, who was killed last year. Picture: Facebook
“The person he idolised is no longer there,” Mr Thangaraj said.
The senior barrister also referred to a letter written by Sidaros to fellow gang member Khaled Khoder during his time behind bars on remand, saying the 26-year-old had described feeling “hopeless” because “the boys” were not coming to visit him.
“It’s starting to dawn on him that these people don’t really care about him,” he said.
Mr Thangaraj said other intercepted correspondence revealed that at least some senior Comancheros thought of Sidaros in “disparaging” terms.
It appeared that as far as the gang was concerned, the senior counsel said, Sidaros had served his purpose.
“He’s been used up,” Mr Thangaraj said.
The court heard that Sidaros was still a member of the Comancheros, but Mr Thangaraj said expert evidence showed how hard it was for a person to leave without repercussions, even when they were not locked up alongside other members of the gang.
Former Canberra Comanchero chapter commander Peter Zdravkovic.
“He is doing what you’d think he needs to do to survive [by remaining a member],” the barrister said.
But Crown prosecutor Trent Hickey said there was no evidence that Sidaros wanted to cut ties with the Comancheros.
“He remains utterly unremorseful,” Mr Hickey said.
“You might think that if he didn’t want to be part of this lifestyle, it would eke out somewhere.”
Mr Hickey questioned why Sidaros could not just leave the gang if he wanted to, saying the claims made by Mr Thangaraj were “meaningless” and lacking any supporting evidence.
“We don’t know that [Sidaros] is not boots and all in [with the Comancheros],” he said.
The prosecutor told the court that while the attempted murder charge was no longer a factor in sentencing, Sidaros’ actions on the night of the “ferocious attack” were still “very serious”.
He said there was “not a whole lot of difference” between shooting at someone to kill them and firing with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm.
“Right-thinking members of the community watching this [CCTV footage] must think it’s outrageous,” Mr Hickey said.
“It’s pure luck that [the offenders’] shooting didn’t cause more injuries.”
Justice David Mossop said he would hand down a sentence on Tuesday afternoon.
