Court Says: Name of Man Who Shot Bikie Leader Can Be Told
Introduction
A court in Western Australia said a news rule is now gone. The rule stopped people from saying the name of a man. The man killed a bikie leader in 2020. His name is Benjamin Luke Johnston.
Main Body
Benjamin Luke Johnston is 39 years old. He was a soldier and an electrician. He said he killed Nick Martin. Nick Martin was the leader of a bikie group. The court sent Johnston to prison for 20 years. The killing was on December 12, 2020. Johnston used a gun. He shot from far away. The bullet hit Nick Martin in the chest. The bullet also hit Martin''s son-in-law in the arm. The son-in-law did not die from the bullet. He died 16 months later from a different sickness. About 2,000 people were at the place. Johnston helped the police with another man''s trial. The other man''s name is David James Pye. Pye was a friend of Martin. Then he joined a different bikie group. The court said Pye planned the killing. Pye offered Johnston $150,000. Johnston got $100,000. Pye will get his punishment on May 13, 2026. His lawyer wants to change the court''s decision. Johnston asked the court to end the news rule. He said the rule made his life in prison hard. Mail did not come to him. Visitors could not make appointments. He could not start a university class. He said people in prison already knew his name. The judge agreed. He ended the news rule. Now we know more about Johnston. He was a soldier. He started shooting guns when he was 15. He had a gun license. He kept many guns at his home. He worked for a charity in Iraq. He helped with medical training. He had a sickness from bad memories. He wanted a drug called MDMA. This drug started his talk with Pye. Johnston watched Martin for a long time. He used a small flying camera to look at Martin''s home. He shot his gun 200 times in the bush to test it. On the night of the killing, he went through a hole in a fence. He wore camouflage clothes. He waited in the bushes for 10 to 15 minutes. Then he shot. Pye''s lawyer said Johnston is a liar. The lawyer said Johnston told many false stories. There was no proof that Pye did the killing. Only Johnston''s words said Pye did it. Police recordings did not talk about the killing. The prosecution said Pye had a reason. He left one bikie group for another. Both men wanted the other to die. The trial did not have a jury. The court said no jury could be fair.
Conclusion
Now people can say Benjamin Luke Johnston''s name. He is the man who shot Nick Martin. Johnston is still in prison. David Pye waits for his punishment. He will try to change the court''s decision.