Tara Cosoleto, AAP
A Sydney man charged over the execution-style shooting murder of gangland figure Gavin “Capable“ Preston has been remanded in custody.
Jaeden Tito, 22, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on the evening of October 26, after he was extradited from NSW earlier in the day.
Tito, still dressed in the red shorts he was arrested in, remained mostly quiet throughout his brief court appearance.
He only confirmed to Magistrate Julie Grainger that it was his first time in custody and he was withdrawing from cocaine and marijuana.
Preston, 50, was killed and a 26-year-old South Morang man he was dining with was critically injured after shots were fired outside Sweet Lulus cafe in Keilor Village on September 9.
Security camera footage showed a hooded gunman dressed in black running from the passenger side door of a black SUV and firing several shots from a handgun at Preston, who fell to the ground.
He died at the scene, while the other man underwent emergency surgery on gunshot wounds to his stomach.
Tito was arrested at his Bradbury home in Sydney’s southwest on the morning of October 25, and detectives then charged him with Preston’s murder.
He was extradited to Melbourne on October 26.
Police were seeking a longer time frame to compile the brief of evidence against Tito, with the prosecutor telling Ms Grainger there was 114 hours of CCTV footage to assess.
Detectives were also awaiting the results of forensic testing, he said.
Tito’s lawyer Talal Krayem opposed the 14-week timeline, saying it was not fair to his client in custody.
But Ms Grainger said the usual maximum period for service of the hand-up brief was 12 weeks, so an additional fortnight was not unreasonable.
Police will need to serve the brief of evidence to defence by Februrary 1.
Tito was remanded in custody to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 14 next year.
