ANALYSIS
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There's a saying among the cops in Canberra that violent deaths in our town often come in threes.
If so, what's next?
Police will not comment on whether the wild melee that resulted in Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang boss Pitasoni Tali Ulavalu bleeding to death on the cold concrete of Bunda Street in the early hours of Sunday morning will lead to an escalation of the bikie wars which previously resonated through the national capital.
But today specialist police Taskforce Nemesis members will be combing carefully through the CCTV footage from inside and outside the nightclub venue.
Their intelligence gatherers will be taking snapshots of every one of the people who spilled out into the street just after midnight, and cross-referencing those captured facial images against those they have on file, particularly focusing on those with outlaw motorcycle gang connections.
It now appears the fight started in earnest inside the club before midnight, with punches thrown and significant blood spilled, and then continued in the street outside.
Tensions ran very high that night and will continue into the days ahead. Only an early arrest can hope to ease that tension.
Comanchero members will be meeting to gather their own picture of what occurred that night and form their own views on who was responsible.
They are well-resourced, organised, operate under a "brotherhood" style of command and control hierarchy, and now are highly motivated.
Revenge will be foremost on their minds. If they firmly believe this was the action of a rival gang, this would be a volatile development.
Police will be looking to move swiftly on this incident and find who's responsible before matters escalate further.
The high-profile violent death of an OMCG leader in a town where the Comancheros are now the biggest players not so much in number, but in influence and control, could create a flashpoint with significant knock-on effects into the political space.
ACT Liberal frontbencher Jeremy Hanson has been highly vocal for years about the ACT's lack of anti-consorting laws - targeted mostly at bikies - to match those in neighbouring NSW and Victoria.
Those laws have given strong powers to police in those states to suppress bikie gang members running and acting in number.
Late last year, a report was tabled in the ACT Assembly which reviewed the effectiveness of police to target, disrupt, investigate and prosecute criminal gang members.
It noted that there has been a national increased concern about the operation of organised crime and criminal gangs, including OMCGs.
The report, which didn't look at the most recent activity, stated that "violence linked to OMCGs has escalated since 2015, which could further lead to a range of serious harm to victims and the community in the ACT".
Between November 2016 and May 2017, the report noted 30 OMCG-linked incidents have been recorded, including: two in November 2016 (including a shooting in Calwell), a series of high profile shootings and arson attacks in July 2017, and a public five-on-one bashing in Fyshwick in November of the same year.
In January 2019, a chance meeting between members of the Nomads and the Comancheros at the Southern Cross Club resulted in a push-and-shove in which one Nomads member had his nose broken. Two Comancheros have since appeared in court and received good behaviour bonds and fines. The incident fuelled animosity between the two gangs significantly.
In 2019, police charged 36 motorcycle club members with 80 offences, conducted 35 raids, and seized 12 firearms.
Canberra Comanchero junior Axel Sidaros is currently serving 14 years in jail after being found guilty by a jury last year of seven offences. The charges included attempted murder, related to a shooting and arson attack on former gang leader Peter Zdravkovic in June 2018, following a split in the club.
"Patched" members of gangs are generally older and experienced in the ways of running their business activity, both legitimate and illegal. They know that having a profile is bad for business but when one of their own is killed, all bets are off.
The biggest issue for police now in the wake of Mr Ulavalu's murder are the actions of the so-called gang "associates".
These are often younger members who are not fully "patched" but aim to be. In order to lift their status, they perform activities on behalf of, and under the direction of, the "patched" members. The more effectively they serve the gang's interests, the greater the consideration given to full membership status.
It will be the less predictable and emotion-driven actions of these associates which may escalate conflict between the gangs to a level not seen in years.