Second man fronts court over gangster's shooting murder

A second man charged over an execution style shooting has faced Melbourne Magistrates Court. (Mal Fairclough/AAP PHOTOS)

A second man charged over the execution-style shooting of gangland figure Gavin 'Capable' Preston has fronted a Melbourne court after being extradited from NSW. 

Victorian detectives travelled to Sydney on Thursday to charge Rabii Abram Zahabe, 24, with murder after he was arrested on unrelated offences.

Police allege he was involved in the September 2023 killing, in which Preston was shot dead outside a cafe in Melbourne's northwest.

Zahabe remained quiet during his brief filing hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.

His lawyer Ben Jamieson told the court there were no custody management issues. 

The 24-year-old was remanded in custody until his next court appearance in May. 

Another man, Jaeden Tito, was arrested in Sydney's southwest in October 2023 and charged with Preston's murder. 

The 23-year-old, who was not known to police before the shooting, was taken to Melbourne to face further charges.

Preston, 50, was killed and a 26-year-old South Morang man he was dining with critically injured after shots were fired outside the Sweet Lulus cafe in Keilor Village on September 9, 2023.

Security camera footage showed a hooded gunman dressed in black running from the passenger side door of a black SUV and firing several shots from a handgun at Preston, who fell to the ground.

Preston died at the scene. The other man underwent emergency surgery on gunshot wounds to his stomach. 

The injured victim started to run away after seeing the gunman approach, as other diners fled and hit the deck as shots rang out.

No one else was injured in the incident.

Preston was released from Barwon Prison in February after serving 11 years for defensive homicide over the fatal 2012 shooting of 41-year-old Adam Khoury, a Melbourne ice dealer.

He suffered nine stab wounds, several cuts to his face and head and a 15cm cut down his right jawline during an attack in the maximum security prison's exercise yard in 2014.

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