A notorious killer is back behind bars. Photo: NSW Courts.
A convicted killer is back behind bars after a violent home invasion in Albion Park.
Zlatan Popovic, aged in his 50s, is notorious for the Keira Street shooting of Vedran Ravnjak in 1999.
Mr Ravnjak died and nine other people were wounded. Popovic was jailed for manslaughter and malicious wounding.
Shortly after his release on parole in 2007, another man was gunned down inside a Wollongong nightclub.
Popovic was jailed for allegedly ordering the hit; however, his conviction was later overturned on appeal and he was released in 2020.
Now he will serve more years behind bars for violent crime for his involvement in the Albion Park home invasion.
Four people were at an Albion Park home when Popovic kicked the door in on 20 May 2023.
He and two other men entered before they forced a man to the ground and demanded he give them “all the stuff”.
The first victim gave the invaders a small bag of methylamphetamine.
The invaders were not satisfied and an unidentified member of the trio struck the first victim on the back of the head with an axe. He fell to the ground, but fortunately suffered only a small lump on his head.
The three invaders then forced their way through a locked bedroom door, where they found the second victim, and claimed he owed one of them money.
The man wielding the axe swung it towards the second victim, who suffered cuts to his fingers and right thigh.
Popovic then punched the second victim in the face; the victim fell back onto the bed.
Another co-offender made threats and then said, “This is what happens when you fuck around.” The three men then left.
As a member of the trio, Popovic is considered legally responsible for the actions of the group.
Popovic was arrested on 20 December 2023 after a police investigation.
He initially denied the offences, however, he later admitted he was affected by methylamphetamine and agreed to go along with the attack.
Popovic pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter and committing a serious indictable offence.
Popovic’s trial was presided over by Judge Andrew Haesler, who acknowledged Popovic’s violent history, but said his life was a sad one.
Haesler said Popovic carried life-long psychological burdens as a result of childhood trauma.
“It is clear that matters in his past impeded the formation of a moral compass,” Judge Haesler said.
“They continue to have an impact on his moral culpability.
“It is sad that much of his history and personal circumstances can be gleaned from criminal reports.
“He has spent significant periods of his life in custody … his life was blighted by the suicide of his partner while he was in custody.”
Judge Haesler also acknowledged Popovic’s incarceration would have an affect on his two teenage children and his mother, who cares for them.
Popovic said his children were a powerful motivation for him to deal with his drug problems and avoid crime, however, the judge noted that on this occasion Popovic had put his drug use before his family.
“When men armed with a makeshift weapon go to another person’s house in the early hours of the morning, and where actual bodily harm was inflicted on the principal victim, the community rightly expects that judges treat matters such as this very seriously,” Judge Haesler said.
“Others in the community have to understand that if they do what Popovic did, retribution will fall upon them and they too risk spending periods of their life in custody away from their family.
“At the same time Mr Popovic appears to, at present, have some understanding of his obligations to the community and his family, and by the structure of the sentence, I will give him a chance to prove himself first to the State Parole Authority, and then generally, if he is given parole.”
Judge Haesler sentenced Popovic to three years and nine months in prison with a non-parole period of two years and three months for aggravated break and enter and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years with a standard non-parole period of five years, however, Popovic received a sentence discount for his early guilty plea.
Judge Haesler also acknowledged that Popovic had spent eight years in prison in relation to his alleged role in the night club incident, which he was later acquitted of.
Popovic will be eligible for parole on 3 June 2026.
Already 73 countries have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It's alarming… View