Shots rang out, a man fell face-first onto the brick floor and a baby cried for its mother.
A Supreme Court of Victoria jury has watched the chilling moment feared Melbourne underworld identity Gavin Preston was executed in broad daylight.
Jaeden Tito, 25, and Rabii Zahabe, 26, both from New South Wales, are accused of his murder and the attempted murder of his associate Abbas Maghnie as the pair sat outside Sweet Lulu’s cafe, in Melbourne’s north-west, on September 9, 2023.
The men have both pleaded not guilty, and the trial – now in its third week before Justice Michael O’Connell – is expected to conclude this week.
On Tuesday, the court released a 40-minute video watched by the jury of what police allege are those men planning and carrying out the brazen hit.
The detailed footage included hours of CCTV and dashcam footage of the alleged gunmen driving the cars police say were used in the alleged execution and getaway.
But the most chilling footage appeared 36 minutes in when diners were seen enjoying their breakfast in the moments before the alleged killers stormed the cafe.
CCTV footage showed diners duck for cover and run as two masked gunmen opened on Preston, shooting him seven times.
Gavin Preston (right) had allegedly been a marked man on several fronts
Crime scene photos show how many shots were fired at Preston and his mate at the cafe
Mr Maghnie sustained near-fatal injuries in the attack, but managed to run for cover after sustaining a single, yet devastating bullet wound.
The court heard he had refused to help police with their case despite the loss of his mate and almost dying in the attack.
Footage showed him fleeing the cafe on foot before he collapsed due to his injuries.
The jury has heard claims a $5million contract had been put on Preston in retaliation for desecrating the grave of the sister of criminal kingpin George Marrogi.
Meshlin Marrogi’s grave was attacked at Preston cemetery in July 2023, two years after her death from Covid.
The Supreme Court heard on Monday that police had received an information report on August 21, 2023, declaring: ‘Gavin dug up Meshlin Marrogi’s grave … There is now a contract on Gavin’s head of $5million.’
But the court has also been told other police reports suggested tobacco kingpin ‘Kaz’ Hamad may have ordered the hit on Preston.
He was also reported to have been in a dispute with Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim, the jury heard.
Rabii Zahabe denies he was behind the execution of Preston
Another possible reason for the hit was Preston’s history of ‘weaponising sexual violence’.
The court heard Preston had been released from jail just five months before he was killed, having served a sentence for shooting two men, one of whom died.
Police believed he would seek retribution over the 2020 death of his friend Nabil Maghnie, the father of Abbas Maghnie.
The prosecution case closed on Monday, with neither Zahabe nor Tito giving evidence.
The jury has been taken through what the Crown described as a well-planned execution.
This included allegations the men sourced balaclavas and used encrypted apps to plan the alleged assassination.
Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill said four stolen vehicles with cloned plates and heavy tinting were moved around residential streets in the area in preparation for the shooting, the Crown alleges.
The night before Preston’s execution, a chauffeur was booked via an encrypted app to pick up passengers in Keilor the next morning and drive them to Sydney.
Those two men were the alleged shooters, the court heard.
Abbas Maghnie in the moments after he was shot alongside Gavin Preston
Police tape off the area around the cafe where Preston was gunned down in an alleged public execution
The jury heard the men were picked up in an Audi Q7 by a driver that later noted his passengers had a ‘weird smell’.
Police alleged Tito had earlier sustained burns to his arm after setting fire to an Audi Q5 used in the murder.
Phone and traffic data is said to have tracked the car from Melbourne to NSW, where the men requested separate drop‑offs near Liverpool and Yagoona, close to locations linked to the accused.
Ms Churchill said the chauffeur noted the men remained mostly quiet throughout the long drive across the border, but overheard one man state: ‘We are brothers now.’
The jury heard claims Zahabe later searched ‘no extradition countries’, viewed a photo of Preston and his partner, and searched for verses in the Quran about forgiveness and a prayer of repentance
The trial is expected to wind up this week.
