Alleged ‘mastermind’ of $150,000 hit on bikie boss denies he is the man behind the sniper-style attack
- Bikie denies organising sniper shooting of rival in Perth
- David Pye accused of paying $150,000 to kill Nick Martin
- Long range shooting occurred at Perth Motorplex in 2020
A Perth bikie has denied orchestrating the fatal shooting of a rival gang member and conspiring to murder two other people during a court appearance.
David James Pye, 40, appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday via videolink from custody where he pleaded not guilty to six charges.
Pye, who was dressed in an orange prison uniform spoke only to confirm his name and enter his six not guilty pleas to charges that included dealing with money that was used in connection with the murder.
David James Pye (pictured) has pleaded not guilty to hiring a contract killer to shoot dead bikie boss Nick Martin
He has been charged with the murder of former associate and senior Rebels bikie Nick Martin, who was shot dead from long range at the drag-racing centre of Perth Motorplex in 2020.
It is alleged Pye, a former Rebels associate who became linked to the Comancheros gang, organised and paid for Martin to be shot in a sniper-style attack where the trigger was pulled 300 metres away.
The shooter, a former soldier, was in 2021 sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to Martin’s murder.
Police allege Pye offered to pay the same shooter to murder a woman and another senior bikie, Comanchero boss Ray Cilli, who is living Thailand.
Nick Martin (pictured with wife) was assassinated at Perth Motorplex on December 12, 2020 after a contract killing that was allegedly masterminded by former Rebels associate David Pye
The hitman’s name, which has been suppressed for legal reasons, avoided a life sentence for murder after agreeing to testify against Pye.
He claimed Pye offered him $150,000 to kill Martin.
Pye allegedly initially contacted the 35-year-old man in early 2020 via encrypted messaging service Wire, asking about his experience and skills.
The assassin conducted surveillance on Martin that even included sending a drone over his home.
The alleged plan for Cilli was to spray him with machine gun fire as he left a bar in Thailand, according to the contract killer.
In August Pye told the West Australian newspaper that he should be allowed in the general units of Perth’s Casuarina Prison.
He has been isolated in the prison’s special handling unit (SHU) because jail bosses think he’ll be at risk if he’s put with the general population.
Pye said he could ‘do jail anywhere and anytime’ but didn’t understand why he was being segregated from other prisoners.
He also claimed there was no tension between bikie clubs, and that the idea was ‘propaganda created by police’.
‘I am not in the SHU for my own protection, I would gladly sign out of this unit and sign a disclaimer,’ he said.
Pye was committed to face a Supreme Court trial and will return to court at a later date.
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