Troy Mercanti: Notorious Mongols bikie goes on trial over alleged pub brawl between rival member

A man allegedly bashed by Mongol bikie figurehead Troy Mercanti has wrong-footed prosecutors by saying he started the pub fight that landed WA’s most infamous outlaw in court. Mr Mercanti went on trial at Perth Magistrates Court on Friday over the alleged fight with David Morris at the Como Hotel on April 15 last year. In a shock twist, the 58-year-old underworld figure’s lawyer called Mr Morris to the stand to give evidence as a defence witness. CCTV footage played in court showed Mr Mercanti enter the Como’s alfresco area, before spotting a bald man sitting at an outdoor table. The pair begin to wrestle and punch one another, slamming into nearby tables and spilling out into a nearby carpark, before members of the public rush to intervene. Mr Mercanti was charged with fighting in public causing fear and damaging property, after allegedly destroying 25 glass panels and two doors. He maintains his innocence. During cross examination, Mr Morris denied ever being a member of the Rebels bikie gang and maintained he instigated the alleged fight. He said he had known Mr Mercanti for 35 years. The pair had been having disagreements since about 2024. “If I could have got another punch I would have, I definitely wasn’t trying to defend myself . . . I definitely threw another punch there, I tried to anyway. “I think I hit my head on the ground from falling backwards, I don’t remember anything after that I just remember throwing a right hook.” Police prosecutor Trevor Atkins accused Mr Morris of lying, to which he answered: “No (I’m) not . . . it’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” And when asked by defence counsel Paul Holmes why he allegedly struck Mr Mercanti, he replied: “To hurt him.” “(I struck him) on the right side of his head with my right arm . . . I wasn’t talking to him, I was physically drained, I was a bit fatigued,” he said. Mr Morris said he suffered minor injuries including sore bum cheeks and “blood in my mouth”. The Como Hotel bartender Braden Spooner testified he saw two men fighting at the pub on April 15, and said Mr Mercanti was “attacking the other man”. “When I went out there it was a full on brawl, (it was a) very aggressive fight,” he told the court. “It seemed to be Troy attacking the other man the other man . . . was not really striking back, he was more defending himself putting his hands up to his face trying to disengage. “The (bald) gentleman was just trying to get away . . . he wasn’t the aggressor in the matter, I think he was just trying to move away.” In closing submissions, Mr Atkins said Mr Mercanti “threw all the punches” and that Mr Morris was the alleged victim of a “brutal bashing”. “We say Mr Mercanti has walked out of the Como Hotel, he has sighted Mr Morris and we can see at the point that rather than Mr Mercanti turning away . . . he has gone to Mr Morris,” he said. “Mr Morris has done a pre-emptive strike in order to defend himself from Mr Mercanti. “Our position is that throughout this whole scenario, there were multiple opportunities for Mr Mercanti to disengage.” He said Mr Morris had been lying on the witness stand, and urged Magistrate Janelle Scutt to disregard any evidence he had given. “There is evidence (that) Mr Morris is unreliable, he is not a witness of the truth,” he said. But Mr Holmes maintained Mr Morris “started it”, adding that his client only punched him in self- defence. “Mr Morris says he turned around, got up full of rage and belted him,” he said. “Mr Mercanti was required to make a split-second decision in relation to what he does right there and then. “There is no evidence he was looking for a fight, (Mr Morris) is bigger and stronger.” Magistrate Scutt will hand down her verdict on May 11. Outside court, Mr Mercanti flaunted a a black fluffy hat and told waiting media it was from Mongolia. When asked if he had anymore fashion statements, he said: “There’s always something in the closet.” Outside of the court, while Mr Mercanti’s trial was still underway, one of his high-profile supporters, one-time Hells Angel bikie turned Mongols East End chapter member Dayne Brajkovich, was arrested by police. WA Police haven’t said why the heavily-tattooed bikie was taken into custody. Brajkovich had walked free from the court just 24-hours earlier after pleading guilty to possessing steroids and being fined $750.