The identity of the sniper convicted of assassinating a bikie leader at a drag racing event is now public, following the removal of a court-imposed gag order.
Benjamin Luke Johnston was found guilty of fatally shooting Nick Martin, the head of the Rebels gang, during an event at Perth Motorplex in December 2020. At the time of the incident, Martin was seated in the spectator area alongside his wife and associates.
Johnston, a former soldier, previously had his name withheld for safety reasons after agreeing to testify against Comancheros gang member David James Pye, who was also convicted for Martin’s murder.
On Friday, Johnston, aged 43, petitioned successfully to the Supreme Court to lift the gag order, arguing that it was adversely affecting his prison life.
Justice Joseph McGrath stated that the order’s removal was necessary as Johnston had been experiencing issues with receiving mail and people were encountering difficulties when trying to arrange visits with him in prison.
The court was informed that Johnston’s identity is already known within the prison community, and he has expressed no concerns for his safety while being held in protective custody.
He also wants to enrol in a university course while he is serving his 20-year sentence and the suppression order on his identity was preventing this, Justice McGrath said.
The former army reservist who was an artillery gunner carried out extensive research for his sniper attack, including flying a drone over Martin’s home to assess the security and approaching within 10m of him at the racetrack.
Benjamin Luke Johnston successfully applied for a suppression order on his name to be lifted
Johnston was hired to kill Rebels bike boss Nick Martin (pictured with his wife Amanda) at drag racing meet in Perth in December 2020
On another night, he sneaked into the venue and moved a safety ramp which interfered with the line of sight between Martin’s usual seat and his intended shooting position.
The gunman, who said he worked for BHP at one time, tested his high-powered rifle by firing 200 rounds at a small target in isolated bushland.
On the night of the killing, Johnston put on a camouflage suit and gloves, climbed through a hole in the fence and crawled to his position in a heavily vegetated area.
The assassin watched Martin through the scope of his rifle for about 10 to 15 minutes as he made adjustments based on wind speed calculations and other factors.
He fired a single shot from a .308-calibre rifle which struck Martin in the chest, causing him to exclaim: ‘I’ve been shot’.
‘Exactly 365 metres,’ Johnston said during Pye’s trial.
‘His entourage of bikies were sitting around him to act as muscle protection.’
The bullet passed through the 51-year-old’s back and struck his son-in-law Ricky Chapman in the left leg before lodging in his arm.
Former soldier Benjamin Luke Johnston (right) said that the suppression order had negatively impacted on his life in prison
Benjamin Luke Johnston is currently serving a 20-year sentence for the murder
Martin died in hospital but his son-in-law survived.
About 2000 people were at the event and a five-year-old child was seated behind Martin.
Johnston would ordinarily have faced life imprisonment, but he will become eligible for parole after serving 18 years, after he received a substantial sentencing discount in exchange for his co-operation.
The trained marksman first met Pye via Instagram when he was working for a medical charity in Iraq, the court has previously heard.
After he returned to Australia, he allegedly visited Pye at his home in Perth’s southern suburbs.
He said he asked Pye to supply him with the illegal drug MDMA, to which the bikie allegedly said he could get a kilogram.
‘He was the dodgiest person I knew,’ Johnston said during Pye’s trial.
Pye later offered Johnston $150,000 to kill Martin, but he was ultimately paid $100,000.
A single shot from a .308-calibre rifle fatally struck Rebels boss Nick Martin (left) in the chest
Johnston was arrested weeks later, having been under police surveillance in relation to the Motorplex shooting.
Pye is scheduled for sentencing on May 13.
His lawyer Paul Holmes opposed Johnston’s application, saying his client was likely to appeal his conviction and Johnston could testify if there’s a retrial.
