Pictured: Jacob Elliott was sentenced to life behind bars
The son of a notorious gangster has abused a judge as he was being sentenced to life behind bars for a revenge drive-by shooting outside a packed nightclub.
Jacob Elliott, the son of self-described ‘Mad Lebo’ Nabil Maghnie, fired four shots towards Love Machine nightclub in Melbourne from a car driven by Allan Fares on April 14, 2019, killing two men.
Elliot’s younger half-brother Ali Maghnie was kicked out of the Parham venue in the city’s southeast earlier that night, with CCTV showing him being dragged outside by bouncers for ‘poor behaviour’.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tinney on Wednesday sentenced both men to life in prison for the terrifying act of vengeance.
But as Judge Tinney was reading the sentencing notes, the gunman who refused to stand, repeatedly told him to ‘shut up’ and ‘hurry up’.
Family of the victims – Richard Arow, 28, who was waiting outside to enter the Little Chapel St nightclub and security guard Aaron Osmani, 37, – erupted in applause when the sentence was read out to the courtroom.
Elliot’s murdered father Maghnie was a feared gangland figure who was fatally shot in Melbourne’s north in 2020.
Allan Fares (pictured) was behind the wheel the night the two men were fatally shot and he was also sentenced to life behind bars
At 3.15am Fares drove Elliott to the club in a stolen Porsche and did several laps past the entrance before Elliott opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun.
Mr Arow and Mr Osmani were both struck in the head by bullets. They were taken to hospital but suffered unsurvivable injuries.
Another bullet struck Semisi Tu’itufu in the shoulder, while the fourth went through one man’s arm and into another man.
Mr Tu’itufu rushed to the aid of Mr Arow and Mr Osmani and tried to usher other patrons back inside the club toward safety.
He was so concerned for others he initially didn’t mention that he too had been shot and still lives with the entirely unjustified belief he did not do enough, Justice Tinney said.
Elliot’s younger half-brother Ali Maghnie was kicked out of the Parham venue in the city’s southeast earlier that night, with CCTV showing him being dragged outside by bouncers for ‘poor behaviour’ (pictured)
Richard Arow (left) and Aaron Osmani (right) were shot and killed at the Love Machine club
Elliott’s barrister Julie Condon QC argued her client was acting under the instructions of his father who demanded he avenge his sibling.
Elliott, then 18, claimed it was their father who came up with the plan to let off ‘warning shots’ outside the club.
He claimed he was reluctant to be involved but that Maghnie had told him to ‘shut the f*** up’ and do it.
Elliott said his father, who died in a gangland shooting in January 2020, was a man who did not accept ‘no’ as an answer.
Elliott claimed his father Nabil Maghnie (pictured) was a ‘violent and intimidating man’ who people could not say ‘no’ to
Maghnie is famously known for driving himself to hospital after being shot in the head in 2016.
Despite his feared reputation, those close to the underworld enforcer have previously told Daily Mail Australia he was a much loved and loyal family man, who was famously protective of his daughter Sabrine.
Last November, Sabrine made headlines after having the words ‘mad Lebo’ tattooed on her leg in honour of her father.
Elliott said he pressured Fares, who was initially reluctant but eventually agreed to get behind the wheel.
But Justice Tinney found Elliott himself had seen fit to launch a public attack on Love Machine in retribution and with desire for vengeance after his brother was kicked out.
Nabil Maghnie’s daughter Sabrine had the words ‘mad Lebo’ tattooed on her in honour of her late father
He also rejected that Fares was a reluctant participant in deliberately taking away two precious lives.
‘You were not some helpless puppet,’ he said, adding Fares could have refused to participate and had ample opportunity to later back out.
Neither had showed genuine remorse for their brutal and chilling crimes, he found.