The family of a man gunned down in a southwestern Sydney street was paid thousands of dollars in compensation by relatives of a man accused of his alleged murder, a court has been told.
Omar Omar is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court and has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Kevan Safwan, who was gunned down at Riverwood in April 2012.
Nearly a decade since Mr Safwan died after being shot outside an Omar family home, Mr Omar’s lawyers told a jury that he had nothing to do with the murder.
Mr Safwan, 38, died at the scene near the intersection of Bell and Schofield streets, despite efforts by bystanders to revive him, after being shot 12 times, including once to the left temple.
Mr Omar’s defence has claimed that he could not be tied to the crime scene, nor was he involved in any dispute with Mr Safwan.
On the opening day of Mr Omar’s trial, the jury was told that Mr Safwan was killed after travelling to an Omar family home in the midst of a dispute with Mr Omar’s brother over money and an alleged drive-by shooting.
Prosecutor Darren Robinson told the court that in January 2012 – three months before the alleged murder – the home belonging to Mr Omar’s sister was peppered with bullets in a drive-by shooting.
Mr Omar’s brother, Mohamad Omar, intermittently lived with his sister and was told by associates that Mr Safwan was responsible for the drive-by shooting, Mr Robinson told the court.
Mr Safwan was investigated over the drive-by shooting but was never arrested, the court was told.
“I found from a good source who shot at your sister’s place. It was Kevin Safwan,” Mohamad Omar was told in a text, the court was told.
Mr Robinson also told the court that there was evidence that Mohamad Omar was $100,000 in debt to Mr Safwan.
The court was told that on the afternoon of the shooting, Mohamad Omar and xjmtzywMr Safwan met at a Bankstown Cafe alongside several people.
During the meeting, Mohamad Omar had allegedly accused Mr Safwan of being responsible for the shooting at his sister’s house, resulting in a scuffle erupting and Mr Safwan being knocked to the floor.
“The deceased sustained a small cut above his right ear, swelling to the right side of his face and a small graze to his left cheek,” Mr Robinson told the court.
During the course of the evening, Mr Robinson said, Mr Safwan made several phone calls to Mohamad Omar threatening him and his family.
The phone calls were picked up in police intercepts and led to officers being assigned to patrol around the Omar family home.
At one point three constables in an unmarked police car spoke to Mohamad Omar, who was seen with a group of men outside the house.
The court was told that neighbours heard gunshots ring out about 11.47pm and two men were seen running from the scene, though the defence said no one was ever identified.
Mohamad Omar and an off-duty paramedic performed CPR on Mr Safwan, but he died after paramedics failed to revive him.
The crown has alleged that in June 2012, Mohamad Omar was denied two bank loans – for $140,000 and $100,000.
He also went to several associates asking for amounts between $80,000 and $10,000.
“The crown case is that Mohamad Omar made arrangements for the payment of a compensation payment to the family of the deceased,” Mr Robinson said.
“It is the crown case that this compensation payment was made because the accused was responsible for killing the deceased, Kevin Safwan.”
The crown has alleged that Omar Omar ran from the scene after shooting Mr Safwan before he was arrested in 2019.
Omar Omar’s barrister Margaret Cunneen said he met with Mr Safwan in the days leading up to the shooting and was not in dispute with him.
She also argued there was a lack of evidence – either DNA or witnesses – to tie him to the crime.
“There is no evidence Omar Omar was involved in this murder whatsoever,” Ms Cunneen said.
“Things are not as they seem. You will know from your life you look at certain situations when you examine it in some detail, all the little pieces of evidence, what you will see is not necessarily as it seems.”
Ms Cunneen also denied that Omar Omar was involved in providing any payment to Mr Safwan’s family.
