WA: Murdered man "a dead man walking" after bikie snitch: court
03 Nov 2008 8:29 PM
WA: Murdered man "a dead man walking" after bikie snitch: court
By Andrea Hayward
PERTH, Nov 3 AAP - A man who uttered the name of his alleged assailant as he lay dying on a leisure centre floor was "a marked man" and had made enemies of bikie gang members, a Perth court has been told.
Johnny Montani, 43, of Morley, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of wilfully murdering Kevin Ashley Woodhouse, 36, at suburban Embleton in Perth's east on May 12, 2004.
At the opening of Montani's trial in the Supreme Court today, crown prosecutor Bruno Fiannaca said Mr Woodhouse had been following his daily routine by visiting the Bayswater Waves leisure centre when he was gunned down.
He said Mr Woodhouse had arrived at the centre before 5am, when it was due to open, in the hope of getting in early to use the gym facilities.
Mr Woodhouse was reading a newspaper on a bench outside the centre when hisattacker struck, he said.
"Within a matter of seconds the stillness of that morning was shattered as a number of gunshots rang out," Mr Fiannaca said.
Mr Woodhouse was initially shot twice before being shot twice again in the back as he desperately tried to run from his assailant, he said.
He had run toward the doors of the centre and managed to get inside one that was open, collapsing on the floor before a security guard came to his aid.
Asked his name, Mr Woodhouse had instead tried to name his alleged killer, Mr Fiannaca said.
"He said the words 'Johnny Montoyo'," he said.
"Kevin Ashley Woodhouse tried to name his killer.
"It is the state's case the person Mr Woodhouse was trying to name his killer."
Montani's defence lawyer Philip Urquhart said his client had no issue that the murder was a "ruthless, cold blooded slaying".
"His defence is simply is that it wasn't him," Mr Urquhart said.
Mr Woodhouse had made enemies of bikie gang members after making the switchfrom the Club Deroes to the Coffin Cheaters, Mr Urquhart said.
"He was a marked man and had been for some years," he told the court.
Mr Urquhart said Mr Woodhouse was considered a snitch after breaking the bikies' code of conduct to testify against another bikie alleged to have shothim years before.
This was "strictly taboo" in bikie circles, Mr Urquhart said.
"By May 2004 he was well and truly a dead man walking," he said.
The court was told Montani and Mr Woodhouse had been friends for more than 20 years but had a falling out and came to fisticuffs in the weeks before Mr Woodhouse was murdered.
Mr Urquhart said his client knew his friend's name was Johnny Montani, not Johnny Montoyo.
Mr Fiannaca said Montani had disposed of dark coloured clothing and a motorcycle helmet at a tip while under surveillance unbeknown to him after Mr Woodhouse's murder.
The refuse also contained four ammunition cartridges that matched the ammunition identified by ballistics experts, he said.
But when asked by police, Montani had denied getting rid of any rubbish that day.
Montani was a gun club member and a draft letter on his computer offered the author's services to Melbourne underworld identity Tony Mokbel to "getting rid" of some Coffin Cheater bikie members by shooting them, Mr Fiannaca said.
It showed Montani had the skills to shoot someone dead, he said.
The trial, which is set down for five weeks, continues.
AAP ahsrpmn=0A
WA: Murdered man "a dead man walking" after bikie snitch: court
By Andrea Hayward
PERTH, Nov 3 AAP - A man who uttered the name of his alleged assailant as he lay dying on a leisure centre floor was "a marked man" and had made enemies of bikie gang members, a Perth court has been told.
Johnny Montani, 43, of Morley, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of wilfully murdering Kevin Ashley Woodhouse, 36, at suburban Embleton in Perth's east on May 12, 2004.
At the opening of Montani's trial in the Supreme Court today, crown prosecutor Bruno Fiannaca said Mr Woodhouse had been following his daily routine by visiting the Bayswater Waves leisure centre when he was gunned down.
He said Mr Woodhouse had arrived at the centre before 5am, when it was due to open, in the hope of getting in early to use the gym facilities.
Mr Woodhouse was reading a newspaper on a bench outside the centre when hisattacker struck, he said.
"Within a matter of seconds the stillness of that morning was shattered as a number of gunshots rang out," Mr Fiannaca said.
Mr Woodhouse was initially shot twice before being shot twice again in the back as he desperately tried to run from his assailant, he said.
He had run toward the doors of the centre and managed to get inside one that was open, collapsing on the floor before a security guard came to his aid.
Asked his name, Mr Woodhouse had instead tried to name his alleged killer, Mr Fiannaca said.
"He said the words 'Johnny Montoyo'," he said.
"Kevin Ashley Woodhouse tried to name his killer.
"It is the state's case the person Mr Woodhouse was trying to name his killer."
Montani's defence lawyer Philip Urquhart said his client had no issue that the murder was a "ruthless, cold blooded slaying".
"His defence is simply is that it wasn't him," Mr Urquhart said.
Mr Woodhouse had made enemies of bikie gang members after making the switchfrom the Club Deroes to the Coffin Cheaters, Mr Urquhart said.
"He was a marked man and had been for some years," he told the court.
Mr Urquhart said Mr Woodhouse was considered a snitch after breaking the bikies' code of conduct to testify against another bikie alleged to have shothim years before.
This was "strictly taboo" in bikie circles, Mr Urquhart said.
"By May 2004 he was well and truly a dead man walking," he said.
The court was told Montani and Mr Woodhouse had been friends for more than 20 years but had a falling out and came to fisticuffs in the weeks before Mr Woodhouse was murdered.
Mr Urquhart said his client knew his friend's name was Johnny Montani, not Johnny Montoyo.
Mr Fiannaca said Montani had disposed of dark coloured clothing and a motorcycle helmet at a tip while under surveillance unbeknown to him after Mr Woodhouse's murder.
The refuse also contained four ammunition cartridges that matched the ammunition identified by ballistics experts, he said.
But when asked by police, Montani had denied getting rid of any rubbish that day.
Montani was a gun club member and a draft letter on his computer offered the author's services to Melbourne underworld identity Tony Mokbel to "getting rid" of some Coffin Cheater bikie members by shooting them, Mr Fiannaca said.
It showed Montani had the skills to shoot someone dead, he said.
The trial, which is set down for five weeks, continues.
AAP ahsrpmn=0A