A young carpenter and “pillar of the church” has made a desperate bid to be freed after allegedly carrying out a failed attempt to attack Sydney nightlife figure John Ibrahim.
Siaosi Maeakafa Tupoulah, 24, appeared in the Sydney Supreme Court on Tuesday in a bid for bail as he faces multiple charges over the alleged botched hit.
Police allege Tupoulahi pointed a Glock pistol at a woman driving her young son on July 25, having mistaken her black Range Rover SUV for Ibrahim’s.
Driver and co-accused Youssef Zrayka, who failed his bail plea last week, is alleged to have sped off before a short chase that ended after the pair became stuck in traffic.
Both men were later charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Ibrahim, as well as firearms offences, after police allegedly found the Glock and a revolver in the car.
In calling for his release, Tupoulah’s lawyer, Ben Barrack, argued that he could spend two years in custody awaiting trial after indicating he intended to fight the charges.
He described the carpenter as “completely expendable” and, if released, would be of no use to whoever planned the alleged hit, with the planning “not attributable” to him.
Critically, Barrack said the Crown would have to prove that Tupoulah had been on the busy Dover Heights street to kill Ibrahim and not to extort or rob him.
Nightclub boss John Ibrahim (pictured) was allegedly the target of a botched hit in Sydney
Judge Desmond Fagan said the jury would have the chance to make that decision and, in refusing to release Tupoulah, described him as “an extremely dangerous man”.
“If he was there to shoot someone, as has happened in the past, he could have shot the wrong person, or he could have shot the person he was trying to shoot,” he said.
Told that no bullets had been fired, he added: “(That) is very fortunate for people reckless enough to drive a motor vehicle that looks similar to Mr. Ibrahim’s.”
Judge Fagan responded to Barrack, who said the alleged incident was “amateur hour” and that Tupoulah, arrested for the first time, was not a risk.
‘He could be a pillar of the church. He might be a saint in every respect, but if you are caught on a residential street with two deadly weapons, apparently positioning yourself to kill someone, that suddenly goes out the window,” Judge Fagan said, adding that they were allegedly stopped in trafficking was “a trap for young players” in crime.
Judge Fagan ultimately refused the bail application despite a proposed house arrest, citing risk to the community and that the “Crown’s case had very significant force”.
The two men were apparently dressed in balaclavas and gloves.
The Crown previously played a video in court of the alleged incident, showing the car allegedly transporting the couple stopping at a T-junction with the Range Rover behind them.
The video allegedly captures, in the Crown’s case, Tupoulah exiting the vehicle, although Barrack questioned whether it was clear he pointed a firearm at the car.
In a second video, police are seen searching the car that was supposedly transporting the couple, in which they located a Glock loaded with three bullets and a fourth chamber.
In the video, a second gun was also located, a high-caliber revolver, which contained five bullets; Inside the vehicle there were also two drums that allegedly contained accelerator.
Police allege that co-accused Youssef Zrayka drove past Ibrahim’s home in Dover Heights before parking on the street shortly after 7 a.m. and waiting with his co-accused.
While surveilling the house, police allege the couple saw a Range Rover matching the description of Mr. Ibrahim’s, and Zrayka stopped the car in the middle of the street.
Tupoulahi allegedly opened the back door before realizing the vehicle did not belong to his alleged target. A few minutes later, the couple again saw a Range Rover.
Zrayka went out onto the road to block the black SUV, but again the pair targeted the wrong vehicle, police allege, and the driver contacted police minutes later.
Tupoulahi was arrested after allegedly resisting arrest
Last week the 21-year-old made his own bid to be freed, with his lawyer Ertunc Ozen SC claiming police would have to prove his client had only planned to kill Ibrahim.
“The facts show that these two were not in the area for innocent purposes… but the body of evidence establishes only one crime, which could be one of many,” he said.
“The Crown will have to establish that these two people were part of an established plan to commit the murder of Mr Ibrahim, not a carjacking or extortion… or a threat.”
Judge Mark Ierace dismissed the bail bid citing unacceptable risks, including that Zrayka could endanger the community given he allegedly carried a gun in public.
Zrayka and Tuploulah were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as well as possession of a loaded firearm in public and taking a car without consent.
The couple will appear in court again next month, when the brief of evidence is expected to be handed over.