Corrupt cops Rogerson, McNamara lose appeals against life sentence
Corrupt cops Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara are contemplating a lifetime behind bars after losing their appeals.
The Court of Criminal Appeal threw out their cases in Sydney this morning, almost five years after they were jailed for life for murdering Jamie Gao.
“The case relied upon by Rogerson was completely lacking in credibility and did not raise any doubt about his guilt,” the judgement read.
CCTV showed both men walking into a Padstow storage facility with the young drug dealer in 2014 before he was shot dead.
Gao’s body was later dumped off the coast.
Justice Geoffrey Bellew was satisfied the men formed an agreement to kill so they could steal the 2.78 kilograms of methamphetamine he was going to supply them
“Extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath,” he said.
“It is clear that the offenders acted with complete disregard for the life of another human being.”
Although gun residue was found on Rogerson’s clothes, the judge said he couldn’t be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of who fired the fatal shot.
On appeal Rogerson called a new witness, who told the court he picked up what he thought was a gun wrapped in a towel from a doorstep in the months before the murder.
He said he arranged for it to be handed over to McNamara.
“Oh it’s a little f—— beauty isn’t it … Oh and by the way, don’t tell Roger about this,” the witness alleged McNamara said.
But the three appeal judges agreed Witness A was a “liar”.
“He rightly perceived that if the true position was disclosed then it may be suspected that he had concocted or at least moulded his story about providing a pistol to suit Rogerson’s interests.”
They also rejected the claim the jury should have been told about a conversation McNamara said he had with Rogerson before the murder where he allegedly admitted to murdering or conspiring to murder six other people.
“I shot Lanfranchi twice, once in the neck and then one in the chest. That was close. The jury said I didn’t act in self-defence. Those f—— lefties at the Herald and the ABC gave me f—— heaps but I got through it,” he was alleged to have said to his one-time friend.
McNamara had argued that would have convinced the jury that Rogerson shot Gao and he was under duress when he helped dispose of the body.
