A Rebels bikie who killed a custom car builder ‘on a whim’ in a dispute over a rare motorcycle has been jailed for more than 25 years.
John Richard Weston, 37, who has ‘Mayhem’ tattooed above his eyebrow, ambushed and shot dead Laurie Starling on the evening of July 24, 2014.
The killing took place as the 29-year-old left his acclaimed business The Chop Shop in Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast.
A Rebels bikie (pictured) who killed a custom car builder ‘on a whim’ in a dispute over a rare motorcycle has been jailed for more than 25 years
John Richard Weston, 37, who has ‘Mayhem’ tattooed above his eyebrow, ambushed and shot dead Laurie Starling (pictured) on the evening of July 24, 2014
A NSW Supreme Court jury earlier this year found him guilty of the murder, and on Wednesday he was sentenced to 34 years with a non-parole period of 25 years and six months.
‘There is no doubt that the murder was detestable and gravely reprehensible, if not extremely wicked,’ Justice Stephen Rothman said in sentencing.
Mr Rothman said Weston, a senior member of the Rebels, took Mr Starling’s life ‘on a whim’ after the shop owner tried to retrieve a unique, custom-made motorcycle that was seized by the gang.
Mr Starling had bought the bike – which was constructed for reality television competition Biker Build-Off – from a man the Rebels believed owed the gang $200,000.
The killing took place as the 29-year-old left his acclaimed business The Chop Shop in Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast (pictured is John Weston)
‘There is no doubt that the murder was detestable and gravely reprehensible, if not extremely wicked,’ Justice Stephen Rothman said in sentencing (pictured is Laurie Starling)
The Rebels took the bike from Mr Starling, believing it still belonged to the other man.
When Mr Starling contacted someone connected to a rival gang to try to retrieve the bike, Weston spoke to another Rebels member about travelling to the Central Coast to give someone a ‘touch-up’.
Weston made several visits to The Chop Shop in Gosford with other gang members before July 24, when he ambushed and fatally shot Mr Starling as he went to leave for the evening.
Weston, a senior member of the Rebels, took Mr Starling’s life ‘on a whim’ after the shop owner tried to retrieve a unique, custom-made motorcycle that was seized by the gang (pictured is Laurie Starling’s father, Rob Starling, leaving the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday)
Mr Starling (pictured) had bought the bike – which was constructed for reality television competition Biker Build-Off – from a man the Rebels believed owed the gang $200,000
Mr Starling’s mother, Julia Starling, (pictured, left, with friends and family) expressed no problem with the sentence but said ‘that horrible, violent man has to be put away for a very long time’
Mr Rothman in sentencing considered Weston’s significant criminal history, his difficult upbringing and mental health.
Mr Starling’s mother, Julia Starling, expressed no problem with the sentence but said ‘that horrible, violent man has to be put away for a very long time’.
She said her son ‘grabbed life from the minute he was born’ and at 29 years old had achieved so much.
‘He ran a business, he was getting awards, he had his whole future ahead of him,’ Dr Julia Starling (pictured, right with husband Rob Starling) told reporters outside court
Rob and Julia Starling, the parents of Laurie Starling, chat with police as they leave the Supreme Court in Sydney
‘He ran a business, he was getting awards, he had his whole future ahead of him,’ Dr Starling told reporters outside court.
‘And he had a big future, he had plans, he had so many plans.’
Another Rebels bikie, Timothy Steven Rolfe, previously pleaded guilty to the murder and is expected to be sentenced on Thursday.
Weston (pictured during his arrest) spoke to another Rebels member about travelling to the Central Coast to give someone a ‘touch-up’
Weston (pictured) made several visits to The Chop Shop in Gosford with other gang members before July 24, when he ambushed and fatally shot Mr Starling as he went to leave for the evening