Police claim progress but no closer to finding synagogue arson kingpin
Victoria Police acting Deputy Commissioner Chris Gilbert and federal police detectives attached to the joint counter-terrorism team investigating December's firebombing met Adass Israel members on Wednesday and briefed them on what they claimed was a breakthrough in the case.
The briefing took place on the same day police arrested a 20-year-old Williamstown man and charged him with stealing a car used by the arsonists on the night of the synagogue fire. The briefing was held hours before this masthead revealed the taskforce's attempts to unmask the mastermind of the attack had 'hit a wall'.
Police will allege the man was seen driving a stolen Volkswagen a few weeks before the same car was used in a series of arson attacks and other crime culminating in the torching of the ultra-Orthodox synagogue in Ripponlea on December 6.
The man, who was also charged with failing to provide police access to his phone, was not asked to enter a plea and was bailed to appear in court in three months.
A police source familiar with the taskforce investigation but not authorised to speak publicly about it said detectives had connected the car to the Adass Israel attack shortly after the firebombing but a decision was taken to track the vehicle in the hope of identifying the person or group ultimately responsible.
Adass Israel board member Benjamin Klein said police flagged the arrest at Wednesday's briefing and told attendees it was 'a very important piece of the puzzle'.
'From our conversations, they seem confident that things are progressing well and all hands are on deck,' Klein said. 'They are hoping this arrest will lead to the next step, which is understanding who is behind it.'
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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
New details of dad's lies to cops after son allegedly crashed Mercedes, killing two
It was late on a Friday night when a group of young men — one sporting a cut across his face — urgently knocked on the front door of a southwestern Sydney home, according to court documents. 'It's an emergency,' one of the men declared. Just a short drive away, an empty Mercedes lay flipped on its side, metres away from a severely damaged and smoking Toyota Echo, the bodies of 24-year-old Alina Kauffman and her teenage brother Ernesto inside, according to court documents. Johnson Kokozian, 22, allegedly drove the Mercedes nearly 60km/h above the speed limit before colliding head-on with the Toyota Echo in Heckenberg on September 1, 2023, the two siblings dying following the horror crash. Johnson and his friends allegedly climbed out of the wreckage through the sunroof of the luxury car and showed up at his dad's door, who then proceeded to lie to police and falsely report the Mercedes as stolen. Among the charges Johnson faces are two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death. He has not yet entered any pleas. His father, Kagadour Hanna Kokozian, pleaded guilty to hindering an investigation and concealing the offence of another person. New details revealed in the agreed facts of Kagadour's case describe the events that unfolded in the aftermath of the crash, including the lies the 63-year-old father told police to protect his son. According to the facts sheet, seen by NewsWire, the Mercedes — which Johnson had only collected earlier that day — reached speeds of up to 109km/h in a 50km/h zone before the collision. A witness driving a Volkswagen in the area told police the Mercedes got so close to his car at one stage the headlights 'disappeared' from the view of his rear view mirror, the court documents stated. The Mercedes allegedly accelerated before crossing to the wrong side of the road and crashing head on with the Toyota Echo, killing Ms Kauffman and her younger brother and hitting a parked Rav-4, according to court documents. Johnson and his friends allegedly climbed out of the Mercedes – now flipped on its side – through the sunroof, screaming at the driver of the Volkswagen to take them to the hospital before instead directing him to the home of Johnson's father, according to court documents. Knocking on the door and telling Kagadour 'it's an emergency', the father was told the car had been crashed and his son was the alleged driver. Kagadour asked to be taken to the scene by one of his son's friends, remarking 'it's really bad' upon arriving, court documents reveal. Kagadour later told police he asked his son what was happening over the phone from the scene of the crash 'because people were saying two people were dead'. 'He asked his son if he was involved but his son closed the phone,' court documents stated. Kagadour was then driven to the home of his son's fiancee, Tiana Savignano, where Johnson and one of the passengers of the Mercedes, Cruz Davis-Tuka, were also located. There, Ms Savignano called police and told them she'd been shopping with her father-in-law when his car was stolen, court documents state. Kagadour also spoke, telling the operator that he had 'heard the noise and they took the car' after he came back from shopping with his son. 'We bought the car today and we went shopping and my son and we come back, I'm a little bit sick, I'm inside and I come out, no car so I don't know what happened. I heard the noise and they took the car,' Kagadour told the operator. The following afternoon police attended his home for a second time and to raise concerns his son was involved in the fatal crash, to which Kagadour told officers: 'The car was parked here. When I came back it was stolen.' His son was arrested that afternoon, and Kagadour told police that he wanted to change his statement later that night. 'I'm not saying that, uh, my son innocent or I'm innocent, but I want to make sure everything OK … I don't want to get, uh, involved in, like, you know what I mean. I'm 62 years old, I'm sick …' Kagadour said, according to court documents. He told police he'd returned home, saw the car's key on the table and thought the Mercedes had been stolen. Kagadour also said he'd been taken to the scene of the accident, but he didn't know who had been driving the car. 'Somebody took me to see the car accident, but I don't know it was that car in the accident,' Mr Kokozian said. Kagadour then told police everything he'd said in his original statement was right, but he also wasn't sure if the car was stolen. Kagadour was arrested days later on September 6 and in a recorded police interview admitted to lying to the triple-0 operator about the car being stolen. It is not alleged Mr Kokozian was aware of the manner of his son's alleged driving, the documents state. Mr Kokozian's son, Johnson, faces charges including manslaughter, two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, two counts of aggravated dangerous driving causing death, and one count of negligent driving occasioning death. He is also accused of failing to stop and assist after the crash, driving while disqualified and exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km. Ms Savignano and Mr Davis-Tuka were both charged with conceal a serious indictable offence and hinder police in their investigation into the crash. All three are yet to enter pleas. Kagadour is expected to be sentenced in October.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Dad's lies for son after two die in crash
It was late on a Friday night when a group of young men — one sporting a cut across his face — urgently knocked on the front door of a southwestern Sydney home, according to court documents. 'It's an emergency,' one of the men declared. Just a short drive away, an empty Mercedes lay flipped on its side, metres away from a severely damaged and smoking Toyota Echo, the bodies of 24-year-old Alina Kauffman and her teenage brother Ernesto inside, according to court documents. Johnson Kokozian, 22, allegedly drove the Mercedes nearly 60km/h above the speed limit before colliding head-on with the Toyota Echo in Heckenberg on September 1, 2023, the two siblings dying following the horror crash. Johnson and his friends allegedly climbed out of the wreckage through the sunroof of the luxury car and showed up at his dad's door, who then proceeded to lie to police and falsely report the Mercedes as stolen. Among the charges Johnson faces are two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death. He has not yet entered any pleas. His father, Kagadour Hanna Kokozian, pleaded guilty to hindering an investigation and concealing the offence of another person. New details revealed in the agreed facts of Kagadour's case describe the events that unfolded in the aftermath of the crash, including the lies the 63-year-old father told police to protect his son. Kagadour Hanna Kokozian has pleaded guilty to hindering an investigation and concealing the offence of another person following a fatal crash in 2023. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia According to the facts sheet, seen by NewsWire, the Mercedes — which Johnson had only collected earlier that day — reached speeds of up to 109km/h in a 50km/h zone before the collision. A witness driving a Volkswagen in the area told police the Mercedes got so close to his car at one stage the headlights 'disappeared' from the view of his rear view mirror, the court documents stated. The Mercedes allegedly accelerated before crossing to the wrong side of the road and crashing head on with the Toyota Echo, killing Ms Kauffman and her younger brother and hitting a parked Rav-4, according to court documents. Johnson and his friends allegedly climbed out of the Mercedes – now flipped on its side – through the sunroof, screaming at the driver of the Volkswagen to take them to the hospital before instead directing him to the home of Johnson's father, according to court documents. Johnson Kokozian was charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, among other charges, but has not yet entered any pleas. Facebook Credit: Supplied Kagadour lied to police by reporting the Mercedes as stolen, subsequently hindering the investigation. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Knocking on the door and telling Kagadour 'it's an emergency', the father was told the car had been crashed and his son was the alleged driver. Kagadour asked to be taken to the scene by one of his son's friends, remarking 'it's really bad' upon arriving, court documents reveal. Kagadour later told police he asked his son what was happening over the phone from the scene of the crash 'because people were saying two people were dead'. 'He asked his son if he was involved but his son closed the phone,' court documents stated. Kagadour was then driven to the home of his son's fiancee, Tiana Savignano, where Johnson and one of the passengers of the Mercedes, Cruz Davis-Tuka, were also located. There, Ms Savignano called police and told them she'd been shopping with her father-in-law when his car was stolen, court documents state. Kagadour also spoke, telling the operator that he had 'heard the noise and they took the car' after he came back from shopping with his son. 'We bought the car today and we went shopping and my son and we come back, I'm a little bit sick, I'm inside and I come out, no car so I don't know what happened. I heard the noise and they took the car,' Kagadour told the operator. He will be sentenced in September. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia The following afternoon police attended his home for a second time and to raise concerns his son was involved in the fatal crash, to which Kagadour told officers: 'The car was parked here. When I came back it was stolen.' His son was arrested that afternoon, and Kagadour told police that he wanted to change his statement later that night. 'I'm not saying that, uh, my son innocent or I'm innocent, but I want to make sure everything OK … I don't want to get, uh, involved in, like, you know what I mean. I'm 62 years old, I'm sick …' Kagadour said, according to court documents. He told police he'd returned home, saw the car's key on the table and thought the Mercedes had been stolen. Kagadour also said he'd been taken to the scene of the accident, but he didn't know who had been driving the car. 'Somebody took me to see the car accident, but I don't know it was that car in the accident,' Mr Kokozian said. Kagadour then told police everything he'd said in his original statement was right, but he also wasn't sure if the car was stolen. Kagadour was arrested days later on September 6 and in a recorded police interview admitted to lying to the triple-0 operator about the car being stolen. It is not alleged Mr Kokozian was aware of the manner of his son's alleged driving, the documents state. Mr Kokozian's son, Johnson, faces charges including manslaughter, two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, two counts of aggravated dangerous driving causing death, and one count of negligent driving occasioning death. He is also accused of failing to stop and assist after the crash, driving while disqualified and exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km. Ms Savignano and Mr Davis-Tuka were both charged with conceal a serious indictable offence and hinder police in their investigation into the crash. All three are yet to enter pleas. Kagadour is expected to be sentenced in October.
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Former US congressman George Santos reports to prison
Disgraced former US Representative George Santos has reported to a federal prison in New Jersey to begin serving a seven-year sentence for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the New York Republican was in custody on Friday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey. Santos pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors and stealing people's identities in order to fund his congressional campaign. His lawyer Joe Murray, when asked for comment on Friday, responded with a brief, all-caps text: "FREE GEORGE SANTOS." The ever-online Santos, who turned 37 on Tuesday, hosted a farewell party for himself on X on Thursday night. "Well, darlings … The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed," he wrote in a post afterwards. "From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried … most days." Santos will serve his time in a minimum security camp at the all-male facility, which also includes a larger medium security prison, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP. But he served for less than a year and became just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues after it was revealed he had fabricated much of his life story. During his winning campaign, Santos painted himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms when, in reality, he was struggling financially. He also falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a college he never attended and referred to himself as "a proud American Jew" before insisting he meant that he was "Jew-ish" because his Brazilian mother's family had a Jewish background. The cascade of lies eventually led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how Santos funded his campaign and, ultimately, his political downfall. Since his ouster from Congress, Santos has been making a living hosting a podcast called "Pants on Fire with George Santos" and hawking personalised video messages on Cameo. He has also been holding out hope that his unwavering support for President Donald Trump might help him win a last-minute reprieve. The White House said this week that it "will not comment on the existence or non-existence" of any clemency request. In media appearances this month, the former lawmaker wasn't shy about sharing his morbid fears about life behind bars. "I'm not trying to be overdramatic here. I'm just being honest with you. I look at this as practically a death sentence," Santos told Tucker Carlson during an interview. "I'm not built for this." On social media, his recent musings have sometimes taken a dark turn. "I'm heading to prison, folks and I need you to hear this loud and clear: I'm not suicidal. I'm not depressed. I have no intentions of harming myself, and I will not willingly engage in any sexual activity while I'm in there," Santos said on X. "If anything comes out suggesting otherwise, consider it a lie … full stop."
