Bandidos face court for assault

OFF THE WIRE, Australia
Source: qt.com.au
Bandidos face court for assault
30th August 2010

Bandidos Motorcycle Club members outside Ipswich Courthouse on Thursday.
SENIOR members of an Ipswich motorcycle gang will face trial accused of bashing a former member at their clubhouse.

Bandidos bikies Craig Thomas Gorman, 39, Gary Thomas Williams, 50, and Mark William Genrich, 45, are accused of attacking the man after claiming he was an intravenous drug user.

Ipswich Magistrates Court heard David Joseph Beddow, 35, was told to meet the men at the Turley Street club on February 18 last year.

After the group arrived Beddow was allegedly called “junkie scum” and accused of injecting drugs before he was told he owed the club $1700 in membership fees and for work done on his motorcycle.

Beddow gave evidence in court and denied using needles, which is banned under club rules.

He told the court he was accused of “hiding behind the club name and colours and using the name in vain... and going around intimidating people”. Williams allegedly king hit Beddow.

Jeffrey Wayne West, 40, and Gorman allegedly went to his home to collect his club clothes and pins while Beddow stayed at the club house.

In the hours that followed, Beddow alleged he was punched, made to mop up his own blood, hit with a sledge hammer handle and a broken pool cue, kicked in the ribs and forced to hold a burning note book until it blistered his fingers.Beddow was then allegedly released and told not to go to the cops or the Bandidos would “kill him”, to pay $300 every Friday back to the club.

The court was heard Williams is the president of the Ipswich Bandidos chapter, Gorman is the sergeant-at-arms and in charge of security, Genrich is the secretary and West is the vice president.

Beddow said he initially did not complain to police but decided to become an informant after the bikies allegedly arrived at his home with guns. He went to a doctor a few days after the alleged incident to get a blood test and get pain killers for his sore ribs.

But the doctor gave evidence that he did not record anything in his notes about Beddow having bruises or blisters.

Defence lawyer Tim Meehan said there was no evidence that Beddow had ever been assaulted and suggested he went to police with false allegations to get out of paying back his debt.

Gorman, Williams and Genrich face charges of assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and robbery in company with violence.

West, 40, also faced the committal hearing, but Ms MacCallum found there was not enough evidence to commit him for trial on the charges and they were dismissed.