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Abdullah Hammoud accused of Adrian Paciones murder in Lalor granted bail

One of three men charged with murdering a tradie was a young soccer star on track for the professional sports world until he injured his leg, a court has heard.

Abdullah Hammoud, 22, was granted bail in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday after his mother put up a $30,000 surety.

He is charged alongside Adam Tiba and Tahmid Rahman with killing 20-year-old Adrian Pacione, who was shot while visiting the Lalor home of a friend on July 18 last year.

Mr Hammoud’s brother Fawaz Hammoud told the court Abdullah fell into a downwards spiral after he broke his leg at about age 16, dashing his hopes of becoming a professional soccer player.

Before that Mr Hammoud had played in at least 10 countries and was on track for stardom, he said.

“He had a very bright future,” he said.

“Soccer was his pride and joy, it was the one and only thing he looked forward to.”

Five years after his injury, Mr Hammoud finds himself facing a murder charge.

Police allege the real target of the shooting was a man involved in stabbing Mr Tiba and Mr Hammoud during a marijuana sale the previous month.

That man was also visiting the Lalor home at the time.

But the man who was shot, Mr Pacione, had nothing to do with the alleged drug deal gone wrong.

He was sitting on a couch in the living room when four bullets pierced the front window and one went through his head about 10.30pm, police say.

The three men allegedly fled the scene in a car and Mr Pacione was taken to hospital where he died, the court previously heard.

His brother said Mr Hammoud started smoking marijuana to cope with the pain after his injury and that no one else in the family had been in jail.

“I’m trying to make his future better,” he said.

Prosecutor Peter Pickering said witnesses had expressed fear of what could happen if Mr Hammoud was released on bail.

But he was granted bail with conditions including that he follow a curfew, not associate with his co-accused, submit to drug screenings and not contact witnesses.

Justice Paul Coghlan said Mr Hammoud had been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder in prison and had strong family supports on the outside.

He said the case against Mr Hammoud was “not a weak case, it’s not a particularly powerful case, it’s somewhere in between”.

Co-accused Adam Tiba’s bail was refused, while another co-accused Tahmid Rahman was granted bail last month.

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Christie Applegate

Update: 2024-06-07