Police have arrested a member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang over the alleged murder of Johnny Salafia, four years after the 38-year-old was shot on his front doorstep on the south coast of NSW.
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Mr Salafia had just finished putting his young daughters to bed after a night spent at the movies when the doorbell of his Kingspoint home rang in 2013. Neighbours told Fairfax Media at the time that he had greeted the visitor, before two shots interrupted the night.
He was shot twice in the head and chest, and died where he fell on Sunday, June 23, 2013.
Detectives from the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad and Shoalhaven Local Area Command set up Strike Force Hobler to investigate the murder.
At about 6am on Thursday, police searched a home at Surfside, north of Batemans Bay, where they arrested a 42-year-old man. He was taken to Batemans Bay police station, where he will be charged with murder.
Mr Salafia's death was a tragedy for his loved ones. As well as his two daughters, he was married, and also had a son with his ex-wife. Just over a week earlier he had survived a fatal crash at Bargo, in which an elderly man was killed.
His ex-wife, Carly Stewart, told Fairfax Media in February, that Mr Salafia had briefly been a member of the outlaw motorcycle gang in the early 2000s. Ms Stewart said his membership only lasted six months after friends convinced him to join.
The arrest will be momentous for friends and family of Mr Salafia, who haven't given up hope of finding the person responsible for the murder.
Since 2015 a Facebook group named Justice for Johnny Salafia has gained "likes" from nearly 2000 online users.
"We do believe in karma and one day it will come for you. One day you will all pay for what you did to us all," the page posted in October.
- with Daniel McGookin/Illawarra Mercury