Zlatan Popovic and Tevi Koloamatangi have been found guilty of the infamous Splashes nightclub contract shooting for a second time, just days out from the anniversary of the brazen killing.
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The pair, along with co-accused Dalibor Bubanja and Jason Hristovski, were found guilty of the September 2007 shooting death of Dragan Sekuljica inside the nightclub following a lengthy trial in the NSW Supreme Court in May 2014.
All four were sentenced to substantial prison terms.
However, the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the men’s convictions just 18 months later.
Bubanja and Hristovski were acquitted of the murder charge altogether, while Popovic and Koloamatangi were granted a re-trial, which began in Sydney last month.
Jurors returned guilty verdicts for both men on Tuesday afternoon, just three days short of the 10-year anniversary of Mr Sekuljica’s death.
The Crown case against the pair centred on an alleged falling out between Mr Sekuljica and the Bubanja family prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors claimed Popovic was responsible for organising the hit, which took place inside the popular nightclub on September 8, 2007.
Prosecutors said Popovic hired Koloamatangi, a professional hitman, to carry out the shooting.
The court heard, Mr Sekuljica, a father of two, was shot as he left the nightclub to get into a taxi across the road just after 3am.
Wounded, he ran back into the club and collapsed near the bar.
He was chased by Koloamatangi who fired further shots, one at close range to the back of his head.
A security guard was also shot in the arm but survived his wounds.
Arrests were not made in the case until 2012.
When sentenced the pair in 2014, Justice Robert Hulme told the court heard Popovic was already on parole for manslaughter over the 1999 Keira Street shooting of rival Vedran Ravnjak and wounding of bystanders when he began organising the hit on Mr Sekuljica.
He said Popovic had armed himself with weapons in 1999 and “resorted to violent and illegal self-help”.
In relation to Koloamatangi, Justice Hulme noted his history of violence included the attempted murder of a police officer after a bungled armed robbery in 2009.
Justice Hulme said he regarded Koloamatangi’s prospects of rehabilitation ‘”as zero”.
‘”The nature of a contract killing is such as to create strong demand for retribution,”’ Justice Hulme said.
Both men remain in custody and will face a fresh sentencing hearing in October.
They have already spent five years behind bars on remand.
