{"id":792791,"date":"2026-05-13T06:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/792791\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T06:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:02:19","slug":"ex-bikie-boss-david-pye-who-paid-sniper-to-assassinate-rival-sentenced-to-34-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/792791\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Bikie boss David Pye, who paid sniper to assassinate rival, sentenced to 34 years in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bikie who paid a trained sniper to assassinate a rival gang member at a Perth motorplex in front of horrified onlookers has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 34 years.<\/p>\n

Former Rebels bikie gang president Nick Martin died after being shot by a gunman during a drag racing event in December 2020.<\/p>\n

David Pye, 43, who paid the sniper Benjamin Luke Johnston, was earlier this year found guilty of murdering Martin, who was once his friend.<\/p>\n

Perth bikie murder trial reaches conclusion<\/a><\/p>\n

With all the hallmarks of a Hollywood blockbuster, the high-profile murder trial of ex-bikie David Pye in WA’s Supreme Court was never going to be a pedestrian affair.<\/p>\n

He was also found guilty of trying to arrange the murders of his ex-girlfriend and another\u00a0rival bikie, Raymond Cilli, who he had planned to have executed in Thailand by the same sniper.<\/p>\n

He was also convicted of a charge relating to injuries sustained to Ricky Chapman, who was sitting next to Martin at the time.<\/p>\n

Johnston gave evidence against Pye at the Supreme Court trial, which was held amid tight security earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u200bMotivated by hatred<\/p>\n

Justice Joseph McGrath said Pye was motivated by his hatred of Nick Martin due to disagreements over how the Rebels bikie gang was being run.<\/p>\n

He said Pye had told Johnston he wanted Martin killed because of a “dispute over recruitment”, and offered $150,000 for the murder, although the shooter was ultimately short-changed.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

Nick Martin and David Pye had a falling out that turned deadly.\u00a0 (ABC News)<\/p>\n

“You were the architect of the killing,” Justice McGrath said.<\/p>\n

Justice McGrath told the court the contract killing struck “at the heart of the system of law and order”.<\/p>\n

He said it represented an “unlawful public execution” at a “sporting event at a public place”, noting that Martin’s wife and family members were present at the time.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nick Martin was shot dead as he sat watching drag races at Perth Motorplex in Kwinana.\u00a0 (ABC News: Hugh Sando)<\/p>\n

The judge told Pye “there was a significant risk” others would be harmed as a result of the shooting from a distance of 365 metres.<\/p>\n

Justice McGrath said Pye had shown “no remorse whatsoever”.<\/p>\n

Plan to kill woman<\/p>\n

Pye’s earlier plan to have Johnston kill a woman in witness protection did not proceed because the shooter turned him down.<\/p>\n

Justice McGrath said this plan was also motivated by “hatred”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Pye showed no emotion as his sentence was handed down. (ABC News: Anne Barnetson)<\/p>\n

A plan to have Comanchero bikie gang member Raymond Cilli murdered in Thailand, with a promise of up to a million dollars for the assassin, only came to an end because Johnston had been arrested, the judge said.<\/p>\n

Justice McGrath said Johnston and Pye were “equally criminally culpable” but noted that the shooter had been charged with fewer offences and had pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n

Identity of sniper who killed top bikie in public execution revealed<\/a><\/p>\n

The former soldier who publicly assassinated ex-Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin at Perth Motorplex in 2020 can be publicly identified for the first time, after he successfully overturned a court order suppressing his identity.<\/p>\n

Because of his co-operation with authorities, Justice McGrath said Johnston had got an “exceptional discount”, from a minimum of 30 years to 20 years, with eligibility for parole.<\/p>\n

The court heard Pye was currently a member of the Mongols bikie gang, having left the Rebels and joining the Comancheros in 2021.<\/p>\n

Pye, who appeared in court via videolink from prison, showed no reaction as the sentences were handed down.<\/p>\n

The court heard Pye had a previous criminal conviction for violent offending, related to a brawl in a nightclub in Rockingham.<\/p>\n

“It’s not as though he has a litany of violent offending,” one of Pye’s lawyers, David Hallowes, told the court via videolink.<\/p>\n

The 34-year jail sentence was backdated to 2021, while sentences for the other crimes would be served concurrently.<\/p>\n

Speaking outside court, Pye’s other lawyer Paul Holmes said he would lodge an appeal against the convictions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bikie who paid a trained sniper to assassinate a rival gang member at a Perth motorplex in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":792792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,308362,323580,104,308361,50,97873,60322,323579,8631,8632],"class_list":{"0":"post-792791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-benjamin-luke-johnston","10":"tag-bikie","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-david-pye","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-nick-martin","15":"tag-perth-breaking-news","16":"tag-perth-motorplex","17":"tag-perth-news","18":"tag-wa-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116565754901695163","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}