Former SAS trooper turned mercenary pleads GUILTY to assassinating Rebels bikie boss with a 300m shot as he sat in a drag race crowd with his family – as new details of the hit are revealed
- Nick Martin was shot at the Kwinana Motorplex on December 12 last year
- Ex-soldier, 35, pleaded guilty to assassinating Martin on Wednesday morning
A former SAS sharpshooter has admitted to gunning down Rebels bike boss Nick Martin at a crowded drag racing event from 300m away.
The 35-year-old man, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, gave his plea in a Perth court on Wednesday following the assassination of Martin, 51, at the Kwinana Motorplex on December 12.
The former bikie boss had been watching drag races with his family at the time he was shot from the former trooper who was 300m away.
The man also pleaded guilty to a charge of doing an act with intent to harm after the partner of Martin’s stepdaughter Ricky Chapman sustained injuries.
Nick Martin (pictured) was shot in the back at the Perth Motorplex on December 12 in front of horrified families who were trying to watch the nitro cars high-octane drag racing
An ex-soldier has pleaded guilty to firing a sniper-style shot that killed Rebels boss Nick Martin
The ex SAS trooper has also been hit with several other charges such as possessing a silencer, inadequately storing firearms and possessing a prohibited drug, and is yet to enter a plea.
The 35-year-old appeared via video link in his prison greens and in handcuffs and only spoke to confirm his name and to plead guilty.
During the shooting a five-year-old boy was injured from bullet fragments but the charge relating to injuring the child was discontinued.
The shooter, who is also an adrenaline junkie and worked as a base jumping instructor, was arrested and charged at his Perth home with Martin’s murder in March and will face court again in December to be sentenced.
After court, the man’s lawyer David Manera said he was handling life in prison ‘well’, ‘all things considered’.
‘Despite the nature of the charge, he’s quite a thoughtful person, he’s quite an intelligent person and he’s actually quite a sensitive person,’ Mr Manera said.
‘I know that flies in the face of what he’s charged with but that’s how he appears to me.’
Martin (pictured) died in the arms of his wife Amanda as she tried to give him CPR. His last words were: ‘babe, I’ve been shot’
Mr Manera said he expected his client would receive a lengthy sentence, and hoped the outcome would provide some comfort to Martin’s family.
Martin’s death happened in front of hundreds of onlookers including his partner and step-daughter.
After being hit, Martin told his wife Amanda ‘babe, I’ve been shot’, as she tried to give him CPR while he died in her arms.
Police spent months on the investigation with 100 officers on the job, while the WA government offered a $1million reward to anyone who had information on the shooter.
Rebels bikie Nick Martin was ridden in to Pinnaroo Cemetery in a coffin covered in pictures of $100 bills (pictured) at his extravagant bikie funeral on December 23
A $1 million reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooter who killed Nick Martin, 51, (pictured with wife Amanda)
The chaos at the racetrack on December 12 in Perth after Martin was executed is pictured
His death also sparked a crackdown on bikies by police who conducted raids and ended up charging more than 100 people.
Martin’s funeral was held on December 23 with 200 police officers keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings.
A police sniper also watched on from a helicopter as the patched gang members headed south to say their final farewells.
Martin’s coffin was covered in pictures of $100 bills and Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower played as bikies took turns to walk up and touch it as it was brought in under a marquee for the service.
The ex soldier worked for Shadows of Hope, which works in war zones around the world both in combat and delivering aid and medicine for both sides.
He’d been unable to return to Iraq because of the coronavirus pandemic and worked as a base jump instructor in Perth.
More than 200 bikies from the Rebels and other clubs attended Martin’s funeral on December 23
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