Salec Sua, aka ‘Lekks’, has been jailed again this week for his role in a brawl at the Village Hotel last year, occurring shortly before he was jailed for a previous brawl at the Carousel Inn that nearly killed an innocent man.
The 27-year-old was one of the front men of the once up-and-coming rap group known as OneFour. On Monday he was sent to jail for a maximum of 14 months, having admitted to being involved in the melee at The Village in Mt Druitt in July 2019.
Appearing in Parramatta District Court, Sua had reportedly been one of up to 20 men in a violent altercation in the carpark between the Greater West gang – which is also known as OneFour – and archrivals the Inner West Brotherhood.
The court heard Sua was drinking and watching football at The Village with friends and OneFour gang associates when four cars arrived full of Inner West gang members, later revealed to have come specifically to “exact revenge” over an incident between the gangs earlier that day.
CCTV recorded the convoy arriving in the carpark, drawing armed OneFour members outside, and several minutes of fighting, resulting in two Inner West members stabbed and Sua hit by a car. Police arrived shortly, finding bloodied weapons including knives, pool cues and a broken golf club.
In court Judge Stephen Hanley noted Sua’s presence at the hotel appeared to be innocent and that he was only seen joining the fight as the Inner West Brotherhood gang members retreated.
Hanley also referred to information around Sua’s challenges stemming from sexual abuse suffered as a child, leading to depression and risk-taking behaviour such as binge-drinking and violence. The judge spoke of concern in Sua’s normalisation of violence in OneFour’s successful song ‘Shanks and Shivs’.
Inner West gang member Tikoa Lene, 21, was also sentenced. He had admitted to a role in the brawl while armed with a hammer, but the Judge found his involvement to also be minimal, issuing a Community Corrections Order of good behaviour for two years and no association with Inner West gang members.
Former Greater West member Rekindle Tautalaga, 23, was similarly put on a two-year Community Corrections Order.
Rap group OneFour originated in Mt Druitt and has sparked controversy over its lyrics, often referring to gang activity.
While it shares its name with the known street gang there is no direct association and the group says its name comes from the fact they began rapping in 2014.
In June 2019 a street brawl took place outside Westfield Parramatta. A few weeks later came The Village Hotel altercation. In July NSW Police set up Strike Force Imbara to tackle the increasing levels of gang crime.
In December 2019 Sua, alongside fellow OneFour rappers Pio Misa (aka YP) and Dahcell Ramos (aka Celly14) were sentenced and jailed over a violent brawl at Rooty Hill’s Carousel Inn in 2018.
The incident on Saturday, 21 July involved the three members of OneFour, who had been drinking heavily at a house party before going to the pub.
According to a statement of facts tendered during Sua’s trial, two mates, Troy and Anthony, were playing the poker machines. Just before 1am Sua entered the room briefly, before going back out to the carpark, where security guards told his group to keep the noise down.
Sua re-entered the pub and stood behind a machine next to Troy, sparking an engagement and Sua getting angry. Security asked him to leave.
Minutes later Sua and five mates attempted to enter via multiple exits. Security intercepted them at one, but Misa and Ramos rushed in. Misa pulled a chair leg from inside his jacket and hit Anthony several times over the head. Ramos pulled a hammer and hit Troy several times, then stomps on his head multiple times while he is on the floor.
Sua is seen in the footage picking up Troy’s head by the hair and shaking it before walking away.
The pub’s owner tried to intervene, warning the men the police had been called and “You’re on CCTV. We have hundreds of cameras here”. He was subsequently hit in the face by Ramos and knocked out.
Police arrived at 1:12am. The group scattered, but were quickly rounded up and arrested.
Troy, the unwitting victim, has no memory of the bashing, having suffered skull, nasal, septum, sinus wall and eye socket fractures, lacerations and swelling to much of his face, and wounds to both ears.
Sua was sentenced to a minimum of least four-and-a-half years, eligible for parole in two years and three months. Misa was sentenced to four years for his role, and Ramos to ten years for his use of the hammer.
Serving sentences concurrently, Sua is eligible for release on parole in December 2021 for The Village incident, and February 2022 for the Carousel Inn, in which he was the main instigator. Ramos is eligible for parole in September 2024.
