Kerry GIAKOUMIS

                

The last picture of Hells Angel associate Kerry Giakoumis in a Melbourne taxi. Picture: Supplied

 The last picture of Kerry Giakoumis in a Melbourne taxi

 

Police hold grave fears for bikie associate who disappeared after dispute

Homicide detectives have raided a Melbourne Hells Angels bikie clubhouse in their search for a missing South Australian man.
The disappearance of an Adelaide man who travelled to Victoria with two bikies to work as a concreter is being treated as suspicious.
Homicide Squad detectives are appealing for information on Kerry Giakoumis, 29, and have raided a Hells Angels clubhouse in their search. Mr Giakoumis left for Melbourne on June 5 with two associates who police believe are members of the Hells Angels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.
It's not known why he came to Victoria, however he had told family that he intended to work as a concreter, police say.
While in Melbourne, he regularly spoke with his family and his mother had booked a flight for June 10 for him to return home, but he didn't board the flight and never made contact with his family.
Mr Giakoumis' family reported him missing and his disappearance is being treated as suspicious.
The last known sighting of Mr Giakoumis is in the early hours of June 10 when it is believed he attended the Hells Angels clubhouse on Lipton Drive, Thomastown, with members and other associates.
 
His bank accounts and phone have not been active since then.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Jason Poulton from the Homicide Squad said police held grave fears for Mr Giakoumis' welfare.
"It's our understanding that Kerry wasn't a patched member and just an associate of the club at the time of his disappearance," he said.
"Investigators believe some kind of dispute has taken place and that may be connected to other members or associates of the Hells Angels OMCG."
There will be someone within the Hells Angels OMCG that knows and disagrees with what happened to Kerry and there is now an opportunity for that person to contact us directly or anonymously."
Police have released an image of Mr Giakoumis at a convenience store in South Australia that was captured on the day he left the state.It shows him wearing a distinctive Chicago Bulls sweatshirt, which he was known to wear while in Melbourne.
Homicide Squad, Echo Taskforce and Yarra Crime Investigation Unit officers searched three properties, including the clubhouse in Thomastown and residential properties in Richmond and Melbourne, on Thursday.

 

 

Missing man last seen with Hells Angels

 
Karen SweeneyAAP
 

 

It's been a year since Kerry Giakoumis was supposed to travel home to Adelaide on a flight booked by his mum.

He'd travelled to Melbourne five days earlier, telling family he planned to work there as a concreter.

Mr Giakoumis never boarded the flight and on the first anniversary of his disappearance homicide investigators have launched a fresh appeal for information to find him.

The 29-year-old had travelled to Melbourne on June 5 with two associates who Victoria Police believe are members of the Hells Angels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

The last sighting of Mr Giakoumis was at the Hells Angels clubhouse in Thomastown in the early hours of June 10.

Police say they're almost certain he met with foul play and want to know what happened at the clubhouse - or any other location - in the early hours of that Wednesday morning.

Hells Angels members and other associates were believed to be there at the time. It's understood the Adelaide man was not a patched member of the club.

Homicide investigators searched a number of properties in June last year, including the Lipton Drive clubhouse in Thomastown, while following several lines of inquiry but have so far been unable to find trace of Mr Giakoumis or charge anyone in connection with his disappearance.

"Someone out there know what happened to Kerry and why - and we are hopeful they are ready to talk to us," Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said.

He was in regular contact with his family throughout his time in Melbourne.

Police have released several images of the missing man at a South Australian convenience store on the day he left the state and in a taxi in Melbourne a day later.

Kerry Giakoumis lived double life before police fear he was killed in Hells Angels dispute

A Hells Angels associate feared murdered in an internal club bust-up was living a double life before his fateful trip to Melbourne.

Aneeka Simonis and Mark Buttler
June 12, 2021 - 5:32PM
Sunday Herald Sun

The last ever photo captured of Kerry Giakoumis paints an ominous tale.

Sitting in the back of a Melbourne taxi, the 29-year-old’s brow is furrowed as if in the middle of a troubling thought.

The Hells Angels associate never wanted to come to Melbourne and had concerns about what the trip could mean.

But the Adelaide concreter never could have imagined what was to unfold when he stepped foot inside the gang’s infamous Thomastown clubhouse a year ago.

“I know he wouldn’t have gone thinking this would ever happen. He wouldn’t have done that to his family,” a close friend said.

Homicide squad detectives believe Giakoumis is dead and his killing is linked to internal club ructions.

There is talk there had been rancour between the Melbourne and Adelaide crews, but that the South Australians were not expecting to return home minus one of their own.

One theory is that whatever happened inside the clubhouse on June 10 erupted spontaneously and Giakoumis did not make it out of the building alive.

ROAD TRIP WITH NO RETURN

Wearing his distinctive Chicago Bulls sweatshirt, Giakoumis hit the road with several members of Adelaide’s North Crew chapter on June 5, 2020.

He told loved ones the trip was to scope out a big concreting job but something did not seem right.

Giakoumis was not himself and had been bombarded with calls asking him to go.

“I never knew him to just up and go like that. He said he was going for work purposes but it didn’t seem to add up,” the friend said.

If Giakoumis knew of troubles within the gang, it was something he kept secret from loved ones, having gone great lengths in the past to protect his friends and family from the underworld.

“His motto was what people don’t know won’t hurt them. He wanted to protect his friends and family from that lifestyle and didn’t open up about it,” a friend said.

“I wish he had told us what was going on. He was very much living a double life and didn’t want to drag other people into it.”

Giakoumis’ concerns became known during his trip to Melbourne. He kept regular contact with his mum, who booked him a return flight home despite previous plans he drive back with the Hells Angels.

When he never made the flight, his friends and family knew something was very wrong.

“There had been no activity on his phone or bank account. We knew something was wrong,” the friend said.


 

FAMILY MAN WITH DANGEROUS MATES

Though Giakoumis kept dangerous company, he was a family man at heart.

He lived with his mum, dad and brother in an outer suburb of Adelaide and was counting down the days until he could call himself an uncle.

“It’s bittersweet for his family – he was so excited to meet his nephew,” the friend said.

Giakoumis wanted a family of his own one day too.

It was an ambition that kept him from formally joining the Hells Angels. He feared the trouble it could bring.

“The year before he disappeared, I saw his drive to start a family and meet a girl and do things right. He was never planning on joining the Hells Angels because of the implications it would have on a family. He wanted to be his own person,” the friend said.

Giakoumis had been running with North Crew members since he was teen.

Some were his former classmates at Charles Campbell College and he considered them to be “lifelong brothers”.

However the brotherhood betrayed him, with police and loved ones confident certain club members know the secret of what happened to Giakoumis and why.

“Kerry has lifelong friends in the North Crew that aren’t happy about it. It’s time for them to step up,” his friend said.

“If they were his real mates, they would want him found and closure for his family whether or not they were involved. They all call each other bros but if you leave one behind, that’s not cool. You don’t do that to someone.”

COLOURFUL HISTORY OF THE BIKIE CLUBHOUSE

If Giakoumis was nervous before leaving Adelaide, he should have been alarmed at the prospect of visiting the Lipton Drive clubhouse.

The Hells Angels are a fearsome club but the Thomastown stronghold is home to its Nomads members, regarded as the gang’s enforcement arm.

It is a place with a troubling history of brutality where those judged to have stepped out of line are not spared members’ wrath.

In 2007, senior member Terence Tognolini fell from favour and was savagely bashed and, reputedly, ferried into the street in a wheelbarrow and dumped.

There are suspicions that some years earlier he had been a key player in the 1999 murder of Vicki Jacobs, murdered in bed at her Bendigo home with her young son asleep beside her.

Police later probed whether a party was held at Lipton Drive that night.

Investigators later bulldozed their way into the QG and seized weapons, bulletproof vest and documents as part of the Jacobs inquiry.

A German tourist was lucky to survive after being taken to Lipton Drive in 2009.

He told members at a city strip club that he was an Angel back home but they quietly worked out he was lying and invited him back to Thomastown for a nightcap.

There he was pummelled with a baseball bat and bashed and kicked, before being dumped in another suburb.

Four years earlier, another man was dragged out of an Ivanhoe bar and bashed in the street before being taken to Lipton Drive.

He was later taken to hospital with severe head injuries and a partially amputated toe.

This history of extreme violence is a painful thought for Giakoumis loved ones to confront.

But no matter the truth, they want answers about what happened to him the night he disappeared.

“Whether he is dead or alive, we want him home so we can put our minds at rest,” his friend said.

Homicide squad detectives are keen to speak to anyone with information about what happened at the Hells Angels clubhouse or any other location in the early hours of 10 June last year.

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Investigation into Kerry Giakoumis disappearance continues

Thursday, 29 July 2021 13:41

Homicide Squad detectives are continuing to appeal for information in relation to the suspicious disappearance last year of Adelaide man Kerry Giakoumis.

The 29-year-old travelled from Adelaide to Melbourne on 5 June, 2020 with two associates who police believe are members of the Hells Angels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Kerry had told family that he intended to work here as a concreter.

Whilst in Melbourne, Kerry regularly spoke with his family in South Australia and his mother had booked a flight for Wednesday, 10 June 2020 for him to return home on.

Kerry didn’t board the flight and contact with his family ceased.

They subsequently reported him missing to police, and his disappearance continues to be treated as suspicious.

Police believe Kerry attended the Hells Angels clubhouse on Lipton Drive, Thomastown with Hells Angels and other associates in the early hours of 10 June.

This is the last time police have information of Kerry being seen.

Detectives are keen to speak to anyone who has information about what happened at the clubhouse or any other location in the early hours of 10 June.

It’s understood that Kerry was not a patched member of the club at the time of his disappearance.

His disappearance is considered to be out of character and detectives believe it is almost certain Kerry has met with foul play.

Police have also released several new photos of Kerry as part of this appeal.

Investigators are particularly keen to hear from anyone who can provide information about his movements during his time in Melbourne, particularly on and after 10 June, 2020.

In June last year, detectives from the Homicide Squad and Echo Taskforce executed warrants at a number of properties including the Hells Angels clubhouse in Thomastown.

Despite following up a number of avenues of enquiry over the past 12 months, detectives are yet to locate Kerry or charge anyone in relation to his disappearance.

Victoria Police Homicide Squad investigators are continuing to work closely with South Australia Police to investigate avenues of enquiry within Adelaide.

Investigators still believe it is likely some kind of dispute has taken place and that may be connected to other members or associates of the Hells Angels OMCG.

Anyone with information about Kerry’s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au