‘Criminally responsible’: Teen drone operator charged with murder over mistaken identity shooting
A teenager who allegedly used a drone to conduct surveillance at a Sydney home where a man was shot dead last week has been charged with murder.
Innocent 40-year-old man Joshua McDonald was gunned down in broad daylight in the driveway of a home on Bruce Street in Merrylands West just after 3pm on Wednesday.
Joshua MacDonald was fatally shot in the doorway of the Merrylands West home last week in a case of mistaken identity. Facebook
“It was identified early in the piece that a drone was used by offenders who committed this offence in order to conduct surveillance of the premises at Bruce Street,” the Commander of the Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said today.
Early yesterday morning police arrested an 18-year-old man operating a drone from the back seat of a car in West Hoxton.
They seized the drone, which allegedly contained evidence linking it to the shooting of McDonald, and several encrypted devices.
“We have confirmed that the male in the back of that car that was operating that drone is the same male that operated the drone in the murder of Mr McDonald.”
Doueihi said police believed the teenager was contracted to carry out the surveillance.
While he would not be drawn on which criminal network was responsible he said there would be “many more arrests to come’.
The 18-year-old has been charged with murder and participate criminal group contribute criminal activity.
He was refused bail to appear in court today.
“Even though (this) male was not the shooter in this offence, we will allege that he formed part of a joint criminal enterprise through his involvement in supporting the offenders by conducting surveillance at that premises.
“He is criminally responsible for the offence of murder because of his involvement by operating that drone, conducting surveillance at that premises.”
Doueihi said the teen may even have been watching someone else at the time he was arrested.
“It is more than likely he was involved in some type of criminality and conducting surveillance on someone or some premises.
“So I am glad to say that we have foiled a potential crime that was to occur or may have occurred on that occasion.
“We are still in the process of identifying who that may have been.”
CCTV footage earlier revealed that McDonald’s alleged killers waited in a side street for over an hour before they gunned down innocent 40-year-old Joshua MacDonald.
The footage shows a dark Audi driven by the attackers sitting off Bruce Street for about 90 minutes, until a ute pulled up in the driveway of a house they were watching.
The Audi then sweeps into Bruce Street, where six to eight shots were fired from what appear to be two guns, fatally wounding McDonald who had just arrived.
The alleged driver of the car in which the 18-year-old man was arrested yesterday has also been charged with participate criminal group contribute criminal activity and drive motor vehicle while licence suspended.
The 19-year-old was also refused bail and will reappear in court later this month.
McDonald’s shooting, which followed an earlier shooting death of innocent engineering student Marco Tapia who was killed in his bed in Glen Alpine, has prompted a crackdown on organised crime by the NSW government.
“These young people are being used’
Doueihi said the community was right to be concerned by the emergence of a fee-for-service type model within organised crime.
“For some reason, it’s mind-boggling, that there’s no shortage of these young offenders that are happy to take up these crime for service roles,” Doueihi said.
“I’m at a complete loss how they get it so wrong.
“I just think it comes down to lack of intelligence, they’re not very smart these young people and they just continually get it wrong.”
He said police were working with other agencies to track down those responsible for coordinating the crimes, who may be overseas.
“These young males need to understand they are being used by these offenders who as you say may be offshore,” he said.
“They are being used.
“They are being paid very small amounts of money for the crimes they commit.”
He urged anyone who sees suspicious drone activity to report it to police.
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