Two men who gunned down gangland figure Gavin Preston have been found guilty of murder.
A Victorian Supreme Court jury delivered its verdicts for Jaeden Tito, 25, and Rabii Zahabe, 26, on Friday morning after three days of deliberations.
The two men had denied they were the masked shooters who stormed Preston, 50, at a Keilor cafe in Melbourne’s northwest on September 9, 2023.
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Footage played to the jury showed Preston and his friend Abbas Maghnie sitting outside Sweet Lulus cafe when two men dressed in black jumped out of a car and fired shots.
Preston was fatally struck while Maghnie was also hit by a single bullet but survived.
Rabii Zahabe and Jaeden Tito have been found guilty of murdering underworld figure Gavin Preston. Credit: AAP
Police believe the attack on Preston was a planned underworld contract killing and intelligence reports suggested he had amassed a number of enemies, the jury was told.
But the barristers representing Tito and Zahabe argued detectives charged the wrong men with murder and they were not the shooters.
Tito’s barrister Daniel Sala told the jury it was illogical for someone to have hired two inexperienced men for such a serious job.
“You’re sending someone who knows what they’re doing, who has experience,” he said in his closing address.
Sala said it was open for the jury to instead conclude Tito had been involved in moving the stolen getaway cars into position before the murder.
Zahabe’s barrister Paul Smallwood also argued his client was not involved, rather he was told about the shooting after it happened as he hitched a ride back to NSW.
Underworld figure Gavin Preston and another man were shot while sitting outside Sweet Lulus cafe. Credit: AAP
Senior crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill SC urged the jury to convict the two men, saying the case was strong albeit circumstantial.
She pointed to DNA evidence which connected Zahabe and Tito to two balaclavas and a glove believed to have been used in the attack.
DNA also linked the pair to three getaway cars used immediately after the murder.
The jury also found Tito and Zahabe guilty of the attempted murder of Maghnie.
They will each face a pre-sentence hearing at a later date.
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