Two men accused of the execution-style shooting murder of gangland figure Gavin “Capable” Preston have had their cases fast-tracked directly to the Supreme Court.
Preston, 50, was killed and a 26-year-old South Morang man he was dining with was critically injured after shots were fired outside Sweet Lulus cafe at Keilor in Melbourne’s north-west in September 2023.
Security camera footage showed a hooded gunman dressed in black running from the passenger side door of a black SUV and firing several shots from a handgun at Preston, who fell to the ground.
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The injured victim started to run away after seeing the gunman approach when he was hit and other diners fled or dropped to the ground as gunfire rang out.
Preston died at the scene, while the other man underwent emergency surgery on gunshot wounds to his stomach.
Jaeden Tito, 23, was arrested and charged at his Bradbury home in Sydney’s south-west in October before being extradited back to Melbourne.
His co-accused Rabii Abram Zahabe, 24, was also arrested in NSW and charged before being extradited to Melbourne in April.
Both men were charged with one count of murder of Preston and the attempted murder of the South Morang man.
Magistrate Leon Fluxman asked both men to enter their plea to both charges today.
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“Not guilty,” both men replied, appearing via video link from prison.
People accused of murder tend to undergo a committal process at the Magistrates Court to test evidence through cross-examining witnesses and then a magistrate decides whether to commit the accused to stand trial.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court introduced a “fast track” process for homicide cases to help ease the backlog.
Fluxman fast-tracked both men’s cases to the Supreme Court without testing the viability of the evidence against the two in a committal hearing.
“I do not have to find evidence that is of sufficient weight (to commit the pair),” he said.
“They will stand trial.”
The two accused were remanded to appear before the Supreme Court on September 2.
Preston served 11 years in prison for defensive homicide over the fatal 2012 shooting of 41-year-old Adam Khoury, a Melbourne ice dealer.
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