A bikie gang nominee accused of a suburban shooting and arson attack has been refused bail after police expressed fears that senior gangsters might force him to prove his worth by avenging their slain leader.
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Christopher James Millington, 32, has been behind bars on remand alongside Canberra Comanchero sergeant-at-arms Aofangatuku Langi since February.
The pair are accused of setting alight the Kambah home of then-Nomads sergeant-at-arms Alexander Miller in November last year, and shooting at Miller as he hid in a bathroom with his girlfriend.
Mr Langi is alleged to have been motivated by his responsibility as local Comanchero chief enforcer to take revenge on those who dishonour the gang, which Miller quit before joining the Nomads.
Nominee Mr Millington, meanwhile, was allegedly involved in "a tit-for-tat dispute" with Miller, who he apparently blamed for torching his car.
Both of the accused have pleaded not guilty to several charges.
When Mr Millington applied for bail in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday, police and prosecutors urged against him being released.
Detective Senior Constable Amanda Hobson, from the police bikie-busting Taskforce Nemesis unit, said in a document tendered to the court that Mr Millington posed "a high level of risk to the community".
She said the 32-year-old was a suspect in several other crimes and that he was likely to commit more offences if granted bail in order to become a fully patched Comanchero member.
Detective Senior Constable Hobson also claimed there was "a significant likelihood" that Mr Millington would be directed by gang leaders to help seek retribution against whoever the Comancheros held responsible for the July stabbing death of local commander Pitasoni Ulavalu.
On the witness stand, the officer detailed a large number of other concerns including that Mr Millington would interfere with key witnesses in his case if released.
"I believe, [because of] his position within the gang, he will try and prove himself and intimidate these witnesses if he does get out," she told the court.
The court also heard that Mr Millington was involved in last month's Alexander Maconochie Centre riot that resulted in 27 inmates being relocated after an entire wing was rendered "uninhabitable".
According to documents tendered by Crown prosecutor Anthony Williamson, Mr Millington was seen during the incident throwing items into a fire and brandishing a table leg as "an improvised weapon".
After being moved into segregation, he allegedly abused a guard and threatened to "get [him] on the outside".
In arguing for Mr Millington to be granted bail, defence barrister Beth Morrisroe described the Crown case as "very weak".
The rationale behind this comment is unclear, however, with large parts of the bail application conducted in closed court because of some "protected evidence".
When media were allowed inside, Ms Morrisroe seized upon a comment made by Mr Langi at Canberra's jail in August, saying it supported the proposition that her client was not guilty.
According to court documents, Mr Langi's partner urged him during a monitored call to "blame [Mr Millington] for everything" and "chuck him under the bus", only for Mr Langi to reply: "Why? He didn't even do nothing."
Justice Michael Elkaim ultimately denied bail, noting that Mr Millington had "disregarded" court orders in the past.
He described the Crown case as "far from weak" and said that while much of the evidence against Mr Millington was circumstantial, it was also "persuasive".
The judge also addressed a claim by Ms Morrisroe that associating with outlaw motorcycle gangs did not make Mr Millington more likely to commit crimes, saying he could not be confident that the 32-year-old's involvement with bikies came down to "innocent friendship".
The trial of Mr Millington and Mr Langi is set to begin on April 6 next year.
