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Rex Martinich

Murder accused to stand trial over bikie 'execution'

Eight men have been committed to stand trial for the murder of bikie Shane Bowden (right). (Robyn Wuth/AAP PHOTOS)

Eight men accused of either pulling the trigger or assisting the execution-style murder of an outlaw motorcycle club member via a hail of gunfire have been committed to stand trial.

Ian Ronald Crowden, Peter Michael Cummins, Haydn Thomas Forbes, James Winston Mau'u, David Steven Meatuai, Adam John Murphy, Jake Andrew Taylor and Junior Jasmine Torope all faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.

CCTV footage shows two hooded men shoot Shane Bowden at close range when he drove into his garage. (SUPPLIED/QLD POLICE)

They were each charged with one count of murder in circumstances of serious organised crime over the shooting death of Shane Bowden on the Gold Coast on October 12, 2020.

Mr Bowden, 47, was fatally shot 21 times by two hooded gunmen, one armed with a fully automatic pistol and one with a shotgun, when he pulled into the garage of his home.

The eight defendants took part in an operation with "military" levels of planning aimed at killing Mr Bowden, who allegedly left the Mongols for rival gang The Finks, a court previously heard.

"This was an execution," crown prosecutor Bradley White previously told the Supreme Court in April 2025.

Homicide scene (file)
Shane Bowden was shot 21 times in the garage of his Gold Coast home. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

"They used high-powered weapons.

"This was not a heat-of-the-moment murder, it's not a one-punch death in the pub - this was premeditated."

About a dozen police officers stood guard outside the court building entrance during the committal proceeding.

Each of the defendants had argued there was not a sufficient case for them to stand trial, magistrate Rosemary Gilbert said in her judgment on Friday, which followed nearly five years of court proceedings.

Adam John Murphy (file)
Adam John Murphy is one of two accused who remains on bail. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

The case against the men was circumstantial, defence barristers had argued.

"It was suggested by the defence that none of the witnesses came up with their own statements and each were incentivised or motivated by the benefit of sentencing considerations," Ms Gilbert said.

The defendants allegedly planned the murder in communications via encrypted mobile phone handsets and had planted a tracking device on Mr Bowden's black BMW vehicle, prosecutors alleged.

Ms Gilbert called the defendants up one by one and committed them to stand trial at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on a date to be fixed.

Joshua James Small (file)
Joshua James Small is facing separate committal proceedings over the murder. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

Each of the defendants declined to say anything in response.

Bail for Murphy and Cummins was continued and the rest of the defendants were remanded in custody.

One of the co-accused, Fidel Gunes, had his murder charge dismissed after a committal hearing in November 2023.

Another co-accused, Joshua James Small, is facing separate committal proceedings.

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