As spray painter Jason De Ieso worked away in his auto repair workshop, he was oblivious to a group of figures concealed in hoodies and masks striding purposely towards him across the shop's sun-drenched car park.
The expectant father had never met the approaching men - some carrying sawn-off shotguns, another wielding a metal bar - but in a moment they would murder him in cold blood.
After a mammoth five-month trial, a Supreme Court jury on Tuesday found seven men guilty of De Ieso's murder at his Pooraka business in northern Adelaide on November 21, 2012.
They are Musa Alzuain, 30, his brothers Husain Alzuain, 36, and Mohamed Alzuain, 32, as well as Daniel Mark Jalleh, 34, Ross William Montgomery, 38, Kyle Lloyd Pryde, 35, and Nicholas Sianis, 36.
But despite deliberating for more than 30 hours, the jury could not reach a verdict for Seywan Moradi, 36.
Declaring there was no prospect of coming to an agreement, Justice Brian Martin discharged the jury of their responsibility.
A ninth suspect has since died.
CCTV footage of the incident played during the trial showed four men at the head of the group approaching the shop's roller door in an arrangement prosecutor Jim Pearce KC described as a "firing squad".
Musa Alzuain, a former Olympic boxing hopeful, was fingered as the man responsible for pulling the trigger.
He was 19 at the time.
De Ieso's brother Dino said he was "a son, a brother, a husband, a father to be, a friend to many" who went to work on November 21 and never returned home.
"The scenes and events of that day have changed the lives of many," Dino said.
"All the staff who attended work that day have been left physically and mentally scarred."
De Ieso was described as an innocent man, senselessly slaughtered in the crossfire of a deadly gang war.
The nine men were associates of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang and had been embroiled in an escalating conflict with their rivals - the Finks.
The violence, which began in May 2011, included public brawls, drive-by shootings and a home invasion in which the young son of a bikie was shot in the leg.
It all culminated in the fire-bombing of the Alzuain brothers' family home the day before the attack.
The men received a tip-off that their target, a Finks member, was at the Pooraka workshop, but they missed him by a matter of minutes and killed Mr De Ieso instead.
Justice Martin exempted the jury from all future jury service, given the extent of disruption the case brought to their lives.
"You did your job well and be satisfied in that knowledge that you've done the job well and served your community," he said.
The seven guilty men were given a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
They will face court on December 11 for hearings regarding how long their non-parole periods will be.
Moradi will face court again on October 23.
Full statement from Jason De Ieso's family
Jason De leso, he was a son, a brother, a husband, a father to be, a friend to many, who went to his workplace on November 21, 2012 and never returned home to loved ones.
He was an innocent man going about his business and he had his life cut short by a cowardly and despicable, inhumane act.
Was his crime going to work that day doing what he loved?
No one should feel unsafe when attending their place of work.
The scenes and events of that day have changed the lives of many. All the staff who attended work that day have been left physically and mentally scarred.
What they witnessed was unimaginable.
Though none of the guilty have shown any remorse, may they one day know the actions they all undertook were uncalled for.
Yes the events of the night before would be enough to make any family distraught, but understand this… Jason was innocent and had absolutely nothing to do with any of the events mentioned in this trial, nor was he a member of any outlaw motorcycle group.
In respect of the accused where the jury was unable to reach a verdict, we hope the justice system continues to seek answers and prosecute those who are yet to be held to account.
This ordeal has been mentally and physically challenging, as I'm sure it has been for the families of the offenders.
No family should need to endure such grief, pain, or loss. Our lives have changed forever, to have lost Jason in the way we did is something you never wish to live.
Jason, you will always be in our hearts, always cherished, never forgotten, your infectious smile, humour, kindness and connection you had with all was unique.
May you finally now rest in peace.
On behalf of Jason's family and friends, a special thanks and gratitude go to all the team from Major Crime for their ongoing efforts, support and endless hours that they dedicated to solving this case as well as the team from the DPP for the endless hours they have put into the prosecution.
I would also like to thank the many witnesses who had the courage to give evidence in the trial.
A special thanks to victim contact officer, Debbie Gibson, for her ongoing support to me and my family through this traumatic ordeal.
I now ask that the privacy of my family is respected and I won't be answering any questions at this time.
