Taking a rare moment to socialise with his brothers and friends, an innocent family man’s life was tragically cut short as a gunman opened fire on the group.
Ikenasio Tuivasa, 35, died a short time after he was shot in the head outside the All Star Lounge in Melbourne’s west in February 2021.
Another man, Reza Amir, copped a bullet to the right thigh and survived as a volley of four to five rounds was fired into the group of about a dozen people.
On Friday, Nikola Latuhoi, 29, was jailed for 12 years in Victoria’s Supreme Court after pleading guilty to Mr Tuivasa’s manslaughter just four days before his murder trial was set to begin.
The former professional rugby player, who spent several years at Manly in Sydney and three seasons playing in the south of France, had been driving his dad’s Toyota HiLux on the night.
The court was told Mr Tuivasa’s friends and family remain no closer to knowing who the gunman responsible was, with Latuhoi refusing to name the perpetrator, citing a “genuine fear” for his safety in custody and in the community.
Wearing a grey suit with the two top buttons undone exposing chest tattoos, he remained expressionless as the sentence was imposed by Justice John Champion.
After he was led from the courtroom, his mother tightly hugged another woman in the public gallery.
On the night of his death, Mr Tuivasa, who spent most of his time caring for his five young children and elderly parents, had ventured out to socialise with his brother, James, and a group of family and friends.
They had been denied entry to the All Star Lounge and were drinking in the carpark when the vehicle slowly approached.
Mr Amir would later recount hearing words to the effect of “f–k youse” before shots rang out.
The court was told both Latuhoi and the unknown shooter were wearing masks and fled the scene shortly after.
Latuhoi would be arrested four months later after he was stopped in a stolen car with a machete.
In the months preceding, Justice Champion said Latuhoi had regular contact with his mother, promising to turn himself into police.
“I was involved in a fight and someone died,” he told her.
“Its not me, it was someone else, but I took dad’s van and was driving.”
Justice Champion told Latuhoi it was difficult to reconcile his past – he had no prior convictions and was brought up in a good home – with the “completely outrageous” offending.
“You had a good upbringing, loving family, a child of your own and stable employment,” he said.
“It remains puzzling why you became involved in carrying out such a dangerous act.”
He said Latuhoi’s motivation for driving the shooter “remains unclear”.
The court was told prosecutors had accepted Latuhoi knew he was driving a person to “settle a dispute with violence”, but there was no evidence he knew the shooting was to take place until shortly before it happened.
But Justice Champion said it was difficult to accept he was “unaware” of the presence of the gun, considering it was a .22 calibre rifle.
“You acted deliberately in facilitating this highly dangerous activity,” Justice Champion said.
“Your actions were completely outrageous, unacceptable and led to a tragic outcome.”
He said the evidence was that Mr Tuivasa was an unintended victim – an “innocent man” out socialising at the wrong time.
Justice Champion slammed Latuhoi’s decision to not name the shooter, saying it had left Mr Tuivasa’s family in limbo and a killer “at large”.
The man police believed was the shooter, Sekonaia Vave, was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder following a jury trial mid last year.
Latuhoi will be eligible for parole in July 2030 after serving nine years of his sentence.