David James Pye: Trial of ex-Comanchero to begin over alleged murder-for-hire of Rebels kingpin Nick Martin

At a packed-out Kwinana Motorplex, a single gunshot rang out followed by the last words that infamous former Rebels bikie president Nick Martin would ever utter: “I’ve been shot.” In front of innocent children and spectators — it was a mortifying site, as the then 51-year-old mountain of a man collapsed onto the ground. The full details of what led to such a callous and public demise in December 2020 has largely remained under wraps until now. But that is about to change as accused murder mastermind David James Pye prepares to face the Supreme Court next week for the biggest underworld trial WA has ever seen. The 43-year-old is accused of inciting a sniper to carry out the hit, paying him six-figures for the contract killing. Once the job was done, he is alleged to have offered another $800,000 to have fellow Comanchero in exile Ray Cilli offed as well. The identity of the hitman who took out Martin remains a tightly protected secret. In 2021, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in exchange for testifying against Pye, who maintains his innocence. The projectile which ended Martin’s life was a Hornady .308 ELD-X hunting round — known for its accuracy and dependable performance — it’s designed for devastating performance on large game targets at a distance of up to 365m. It entered the left side of his chest and tore through his body like a hot knife to butter. Martin’s daughter, Stacey Schoppe was a witness, as the bullet then struck her boyfriend, ex-Bandido Ricky Chapman, becoming lodged in his left arm. He would survive the gunshot wound after receiving surgery to remove metal fragment, but his days were numbered. In 2022, while working at Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert iron ore port, Chapman suffered a reported “medical episode” and couldn’t be revived. It was a similar outcome at the execution scene where paramedics rushed to treat Martin but he’d already died in wife Amanda’s arms. A traumatic ordeal in which she and Schoppe would later launch legal action, seeking damages from the State Government for their mental harm. The Kwinana Motorplex was consumed with chaos as hundreds of metres away lying in wait, a contract killer could probably almost imagine counting the wad of cash coming his way. It was an audacious public execution - even from within the organised crime world that Nick Martin had acquainted himself as the staunch leader of an outlaw motorcycle gang. It instilled terror, not just in rival outlaw clubs, but across the entire criminal landscape - sending a chilling message that the rule book for conflict had gone out the window. Previous court hearings have been told the marksman, a then 34-year-old adrenaline fuelled base jumper, and former army reservist had been methodical in preparing to kill his target. Using a drone to conduct aerial surveillance of Martin’s home, gathering intelligence on his habits, security, and patterns. He conducted training on the weapon of choice, a Tikka T3x rifle, collecting ballistics data to understand how it would fire in different environmental conditions, and surveyed the motorplex to determine the best position to shoot from. On the night of the assassination, the sniper put his plan into action, wearing a camouflage suit and gloves, he crawled through a hole in a fence that he had cut a day earlier. He arrived at his pre-selected firing position, a concealed vantage point overlooking the spectator area where he sat and watched Martin through the magnifier scope of his rifle for 10 to 15 minutes before finally pulling the trigger. In the immediate aftermath of the murder WA Police established Taskforce Ravello, a joint operation between the homicide and gang crime squads, with two main goals: Capture the killer and raise hell on outlaw gangs across the state to stop a feared retaliatory war. Heavily armed cops kicked in doors at bikie clubhouses, tattoo parlours, and anyone within a whiff of the one-percenter lifestyle, all the while the sniper probably thought he’d got away with it. The critical breakthrough for police didn’t come from a confidential informant or a lucky break, but an arrogant error made by the man himself. In January 2021, just one month after the murder, the sniper took the rifle used in the assassination to a licensed armourer and requested that the barrel be replaced. The following month it would be in the hands of police. This forensic linchpin, combined with surveillance data that placed the suspect at the Motorplex on the night of the shooting, gave Taskforce Ravello its man. A former army reservist from Waikiki with a history of humanitarian work for international organisation Shadows of Hope which took him into conflict zones including Iraqi Kurdistan to provide medical aid. He was arrested by police three months after Martin’s execution. Charged with murder, and facing the prospect of spending a lifetime behind bars, the contract killer accepted a plea deal from detectives. At the time of his death, Martin was not a popular man among the criminal class, amassing enemies not just from rival clubs but even within his own ranks. As the then WA police commissioner Chris Dawson put it: “Nick Martin had lost his status within the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang.” A leader without the full backing of his own - dangerously exposed - and fighting his own legal battle over charges relating to financial misconduct. Just weeks before his execution, he had a run-in with the former Hells Angels Sergeant-at-Arms Dayne Brajkovich at Scarborough’s Sandbar. CCTV of the bashing showed tables and chairs were sent flying as Brajkovich launched into a broad daylight barrage of blows on the late Rebels kingpin. Martin came off second best, left dazed and shirtless to pick-up his thongs before composing himself and leaving the bar. In 2011 he was the target of another rival attack, shot in the arm and wounded outside his Balcatta home by Rock Machine bikie Benjamin Sipkes, who was later sentenced to six years behind bars. Further adding to the target on his back, former Rebels’ boss Karl Labrook dropped a major bombshell in a separate court case last year in which he claimed Martin was suspected of stealing club cash to pay for extravagant home upgrades. Labrook said the “missing” money had caused disquiet in the club and saw the Rockingham City chapter leave the gang and take up with the Mongols.