Gouger St shooter ‘an Iraqi Gulf War vet’, Adelaide court told
Sean Fewster, Court Reporter: The Advertiser | September 30, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24424240-2682,00.html
THE man charged over a shootout in Gouger St is a former Iraqi Army corporal and weapons expert with “extensive” ties to organised crime, a court has heard.
A prosecutor today alleged Gulf War veteran Ahmed Al-Khafaji fled interstate after the city shooting in May and tried to disguise himself with new tattoos and false identities in NSW and Victoria.
His defence teams rubbished those claims, saying Al Khafaji was an Iraqi refugee and tiler who voluntarily surrendered himself to police.
Al-Khafaji, 38, of Adelaide, has yet to plead to charges of endangering and threatening life.
The charges relate to an incident at Blair Athol in August, in which a man was shot in a leg, and the shootout in Gouger St in May.
Picture gallery: The Gouger St shooting
Magistrate Ted Iuliano refused to release Al-Khafaji on bail saying the charges against him were too serious.
He was also able to finally lift a suppression on Al-Khafaji’s image.
That order had remained in place past its expiry date due to a police bungle that last week left the court with no idea how far the police investigation had progressed.
Al-Khafaji was remanded in custody until November.
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