Family's heartbroken plea after bikie verdict (2024)

The family of a man who was killed in a car-bomb attack has pleaded with the West Australian government to purge bikie gangs from the state after a jury yesterday acquitted a gang member accused of double murder.

A Supreme Court jury found high-ranking Gypsy Jokers member Graeme Slater, 36, not guilty of wilfully murdering former Perth CIB head Don Hanco*ck, 64, and a friend, racing identity Lou Lewis, 63, on September 1, 2001.

Mr Lewis's Commodore station wagon was blown up as it pulled into the driveway of Mr Hanco*ck's home in east suburban Lathlain, after the two men had spent a day at the Belmont Park races.

After 11 hours of deliberation, at the end of a nine-week trial, the jury also found Slater not guilty of two counts of a lesser charge of murder, prompting gasps from detectives and the families of the two murdered men.

The trial was held amid unprecedented security, which included setting up a public gallery in a separate court building, away from the hearing.

Slater remained in custody last night, pending further charges, but his solicitor said he would apply for bail in the next couple of days.

Outside the court, Mr Lewis's son, Brad Lewis, said he had written to Premier Geoff Gallop - who at the time described the car-bombing as an act of urban terrorism - pleading with him to rid the state of bikies.

Mr Lewis said he wanted police to be given greater powers to crack down on outlaw motorcycle gangs, in light of what he described as the senseless and barbaric deaths of his father and Mr Hanco*ck.

"My letter also implores the premier to provide police with the capabilities to purge such gangs from this state," Mr Lewis said.

Slater's counsel, Colin Lovitt, said his client was happy about the result and breathing sighs of relief.

"He wasn't taking shots at anybody or anything like that, and we told him not to, and the rest of his club," Mr Lovitt said.

"The last thing they should be doing now is wandering around taking cheap shots or sneering ... because that'll be totally counter-productive."

Mr Lovitt described the jury as courageous for having returned a not guilty verdict in such a high-profile trial, amid intense media coverage.

Mr Hanco*ck's widow, Elizabeth Hanco*ck, said: "We're deeply devastated and shocked at today's decision, but I believe the police and the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) have done everything in their power to fully investigate the matter."

Superintendent Dave Cap*rn, who headed Operation Zircon, which investigated the killings, said it was an understatement to say the verdict was disappointing.

"We considered that Slater was a dangerous criminal who committed violent crimes," he said.

"We considered that he killed Don and Lou, but he's been found not guilty, and we have to live with that decision."

Supt Cap*rn said there was no suggestion the jury had been intimidated.

The prosecution had alleged that Slater remotely detonated an ammonium nitrate bomb, using a mobile phone, as he sat in a van several streets away from Mr Hanco*ck's house, in Enfield Street.

It had alleged the explosion was a payback attack on Mr Hanco*ck for the murder of a Gypsy Jokers member, Billy Grierson.

Mr Grierson had been shot dead 11 months earlier, as he sat by a campfire in the Goldfields hamlet of Ora Banda, just hours after having been kicked out of a hotel Mr Hanco*ck owned.

Mr Grierson's killer has never been found, but the Gypsy Jokers blamed Mr Hanco*ck.

Although the trial heard from more than 100 witnesses, the prosecution case relied in large part on the evidence of Gypsy Jokers member Sid Reid.

Reid is serving two life sentences for the murders. His jail term was reduced by 10 years, and he was given various privileges such as a television and PlayStation, in exchange for his evidence.

He is serving his sentence at a secret location.

Mrs Hanco*ck said she wanted to defend her late husband against allegations made against him during the trial.

She did not elaborate, but appeared to be referring to accusations by bikies that he had killed Mr Grierson.

"It's easy to allege things about someone when they can't defend themselves," she said.

"Unlike Graeme Slater, Don wasn't given a fair trial."

- AAP