BIKER NEWS: Ex-Comancheros bikie gang members jailed in WA over Northbridge extortion racket

BIKER NEWS -- Six former members and associates of the Comancheros bikie gang who claimed to "control" Northbridge have received immediate jail terms for a $10,000 a week extortion racket, while three others received suspended sentences.

The described "mastermind" of the racket, Ronald Earnest Parr, was sentenced to nine years, with other sentences ranging from eight years to two years.

In April 2013, the men demanded "protection" money from the owner of a Karaoke Bar in Northbridge but later reduced the amount to $5,000.

They claimed in return they would ensure the business ran smoothly without any trouble.

When the business owner told Parr, 49, the Comancheros state commander, that she could not afford the payments, he told her "that is not my problem".

In the early hours of March 9 last year, one of the men Selcuk Kilinc, 29, threw a Molotov cocktail into the business after the owner refused to hand over money.

It failed to ignite, and none of the patrons was hurt, but District Court Judge Simon Stone said the consequences could have been "disastrous".

He described the offending as "deliberate, calculated and structured... and only stopped by police intervention".

The men were arrested in May last year.

Judge Stone referred to the victim impact statement in which the business owner described the fear she felt for her family's safety if she did not comply with the demands.

He told the offenders she still lived "in fear of the ramifications of dobbing in members of your organisation".

In the statement, the victim said she knew what the men were capable of.

"The worst thing is, I have no where to go or hide, because I have to run my business."

Throughout the trial, the court was told other businesses were also extorted, however the men were only convicted for blackmailing one business.

'No need for parasites like you'

In sentencing Parr, Judge Stone told him people in Western Australia were industrious and hard working and he had no right to take their money.

"There's no need for parasites like you and others to bleed them" he said.

Judge Stone described Parr, who was convicted of extortion following a trial, as the "mastermind" and "orchestrator" of the plan, and sentenced him to nine years behind bars.

Kilinc, who had pleaded guilty to demanding money with threats and attempted criminal damage by fire was sentenced to eight years and six months jail.

Van Hung Phan, 34, received a sentence of seven years and six months for his role in the plan.

Ronald Keith Cross, 28, and Wade Robert Hopes, 27, were both jailed for five years, while Leslie Jade Grantham, 42, was sentenced to two years.

All the sentences were backdated to account for time already served and all men will be eligible for parole.

Hua Hang, 26, Benta Tran, 25, and Michael Xanthoudakis, 36, received suspended jail terms.

This article was first published on 16 Nov 2015

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