Matt Utai is stable and talking after being shot outside his Sydney home. Photo / Getty Images
Matt Utai is stable and talking after being shot outside his Sydney home. Photo / Getty Images
Matt Utai is awake and talking as a teenager is charged over the alleged shooting that left the former NRL star fighting for life outside his western Sydney home.
The former Bulldogs and Tigers NRL star was found writhing on the front lawn of his Macquarie St home in Greenacreshortly after 6am on Tuesday after he was shot twice while on his way to work.
The 44-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to his stomach and leg before he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, with police earlier telling reporters he was “initially in a bad way”.
Utai is believed to live at the property with his wife and children, who were inside at the time of the alleged shooting.
A car was found alight in Samuel St in Wiley Park shortly afterwards.
Police have now charged a 25-year-old man and 15-year-old boy with shooting with intent to murder and participating in a criminal group over the alleged shooting.
“We will allege in court that the 25-year-old man was the person who did the shooting while the 15-year-old was the person who drove the getaway car,” NSW Police Detective Acting Superintendent Brad Abdy told reporters on Saturday afternoon.
Police have charged a 25-year-old with shooting with intent to murder. Photo / Supplied / NSW Police
The adult was further charged with possessing a prohibited drug.
The accused were both refused bail and were due to front court on Saturday morning.
NSW Police Superintendent Rodney Hart previously said Utai was found writhing on the front lawn in “a fair amount of pain” and underwent surgery for his injuries.
Utai is stable and has managed to speak with police, Abdy said.
“He’s still in a stable condition in hospital, still undergoing treatment,” Abdy said.
“We’ve spoken to him briefly but obviously his medical treatment is the priority at this stage and we look forward to speaking to him in the coming days.”
The breakthrough charges follow the arrests of four people, aged 16 to 19, on Thursday who all remain before the courts over their alleged involvement in a spate of incidents believed to be targeting Utai’s family.
This includes the firing of shots into a Menzies Circuit home in St Clair on Wednesday morning.
A woman in her 50s, who was home at the time, was uninjured.
A car was found alight on Freeman St in Colyton shortly afterwards.
Hours later a house and car were found on fire on Hunt St in Guildford West
A strike force was established to investigate the alleged incidents, which a NSW Police spokesperson said are “believed to have been targeting the same family”.
Abdy said footage taken by the accused men as they carried out the alleged incidents had not helped the investigation.
“Those particular images haven’t been of great assistance,” he said.
“Ordinarily, criminals like to have a degree of anonymity when they’re committing crimes, and now they seem to want to be Facebook or other social media influencers.”
Police are investigating whether any of the alleged offenders have links to organised crime or offshore entities.
“It’s very concerning, it’s quite disgusting to be honest that criminals who are overseas are now recruiting young people into Australia and essentially consigning them to a particular lifestyle while they remain offshore,” Abdy said, speaking generally.
There are at least two other people police believe were involved in the shots fired at St Claire and the firebombing in Guildford.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
