Trio acquitted of attempted murder over shooting of former police detective

Three Irish nationals accused of attempted murder over the shooting of a former police officer in the head have been acquitted.

Stephen Tahaney, Jack Harvey and Mark Dixon hugged their lawyers after a Victorian Supreme Court jury found them not guilty over the incident at Point Cook in 2019 which left Said Morgan with severe head injuries.

Jurors also found the men not guilty of four other charges including recklessly and intentionally causing serious injury.

At the direction of Justice Paul Coghlan, the men sat silent as they learned they had been acquitted.

“In not very long you’ll be able to simply leave,” the judge told them.

Moments after he left the bench, the trio burst into celebration, shaking hands and hugging their legal team.

“Thanks a million Julie,” one said to defence lawyer, Julie Condon QC.

“Pleasure,” she said.

Former officer shot with his own gun

The shooting, which the trio said was an act of self-defence, was the culmination of a business dispute between Mr Tahaney and a man called Daniel Saddik.

Mr Tahaney and Mr Saddik were in a business relationship when it soured over money, and communications between the two took a threatening turn.

In response, Mr Saddik pleaded with his oldest friend, Said Morgan, for help, telling him: “I need you here to help me, protect my family … they’re threatening to kill me.”

Mr Morgan, who is also known as Sid, was previously a detective with the NSW Police Force, but his service came to a controversial end after he was acquitted of murdering his brother-in-law in 1995.

He shot his brother-in-law six times in the head after the man was charged with child sex offences.

Mr Morgan’s violent past was a key issue during the trial, with the defence saying he had been filled with “white-hot rage” leading up to the altercation.

In response to his friend’s plea for help, Mr Morgan agreed to come to Victoria and said: “You tell that c*** if he comes within a kilometre of your house, he’ll end up with a bullet in his head.”

But on February 24, 2019, it was Mr Morgan who was shot with his own gun as he sat in Mr Saddik’s driveway in Point Cook, where he had told the trio to meet him.

“You come to Dan’s house and bring whatever and whoever you want. Word of advice though, if you bring someone … tell them to kiss their family goodbye,” Mr Morgan said to Mr Tahaney.

Jurors ultimately accepted the defence’s argument that Mr Tahaney did not bring a gun with him to the confrontation and instead had disarmed Mr Morgan.