The likely successor to slain Canberra Comanchero commander Pitasoni Ulavalu has failed in a bid to secure bail after police and prosecutors expressed fears he would orchestrate reprisal attacks if released.
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Aofangatuku Fatafehi Finau Langi, currently the bikie gang's local sergeant-at-arms, is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to nine charges laid over an alleged attack on a rival in November last year.
Police allege that Mr Langi, 31, and Christopher Millington shot at then-Nomads member Alexander Victor Miller and set fire to the Kambah house Mr Miller was living in during a home invasion.
Mr Langi appeared in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday, after five months in custody on remand, and applied for bail in order to live and work in Sydney.
Crown prosecutor Anthony Williamson opposed the application, saying that as the sergeant-at-arms, Mr Langi was the Canberra Comancheros' chief enforcer.
Mr Williamson said Mr Langi's role as second-in-charge of the local chapter included coordinating violence and retribution against people who threatened the gang.
There was a real risk, Mr Williamson said, that Mr Langi would order "lethal violence" against whoever the Canberra Comancheros believed to be responsible for the death of Mr Ulavalu, who was fatally stabbed in a fight at Kokomo's in Civic on the weekend.
Police are yet to arrest or charge anyone with Mr Ulavalu's killing, and Mr Williamson said releasing Mr Langi so soon after the suspected murder would expose the community to a "very severe risk" of danger.
Senior Constable Lauren Gilliland, from ACT Policing's bikie-busting unit Taskforce Nemesis, echoed those fears.
She said Mr Langi should remain in custody, where his communications with people on the outside could be lawfully monitored.
Senior Constable Gilliland compiled a bail consideration form, which says Mr Langi is the most likely person to assume Mr Ulavalu's position as commander of the Comancheros' Canberra chapter.
The form also reveals that Mr Langi is suspected of being one of the four men who carried out a shooting and arson attack at the Calwell home of former commander Peter Zdravkovic in 2018.
The 31-year-old also remains a suspect in other crimes including a drive-by shooting in which the home of a Nomads life member was targeted in February, according to the form.
Mr Williamson went on to express concerns that Mr Langi had a strong incentive to abscond if granted bail, given the senior bikie faced a very lengthy jail sentence if convicted of the "incredibly serious" charges laid over the Kambah incident.
But defence lawyer Peter Bevan argued there was no proper basis to refuse Mr Langi bail, saying conditions could be put in place to mitigate any concerns.
He called evidence from Mr Langi's partner, Nicole Herewini, who told the court Mr Langi had a job as a forklift driver and container loader waiting for him in Sydney if released.
Mr Bevan said Mr Langi could be ordered to remain outside the ACT except to attend court, and described the prosecution's case against his client in respect of the Kambah incident as "not overly strong".
He said Mr Langi had allegedly been captured on a covert listening device planning an attack on Mr Miller for the following day.
But Mr Bevan said there was no attack on Mr Miller until weeks after that conversation was recorded.
The evidence the Crown was relying upon to place Mr Langi at the scene was also based, according to Mr Bevan, on "hearsay" and the sound of a voice in the absence of DNA, fingerprints or a formal statement from Mr Miller.
Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson found that "in all of the circumstances", it was appropriate to refuse bail.
Mr Langi's case is due back in court next month.
