A group of men were seen smashing car windows before setting them alight. One of the arsonists set himself on fire, according to witnesses.
Police said they suspected the fires were linked and were treating them as suspicious.
Millionaire businessman David Deicke.Credit: Instagram
Just weeks earlier, on July 18, the Laverton business on Triholm Avenue had also been the target of a drive-by shooting.
All three Melbourne Smash Repairs locations have now been the subject of suspicious fires.
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Deicke was revealed by The Age earlier this year to have connections to the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang.
The former boxer built his fortune through a chain of smash repair shops before expanding into property development, luxury car hire, and hospitality.
Speaking to The Age in July, Deicke denied he owned the smash repairs businesses, which are registered to his long-term partner, Belinda Pitts, according to records filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
He told this masthead he did not know why the businesses had been targeted.
David Deicke with his partner, Belinda Pitts.
“I’ve got no idea, but I’m not the owner. We’ve got four young children, and we need to be left alone,” he said.
Deicke’s businesses have a history of violent incidents. In 2014, two Comanchero members – one of them the now-slain crime figure Hawre Sherwani – broke a man’s arms at a Deicke-owned workshop after he tried to leave the club.
Other fire-damaged properties linked to him include a car wash in Brighton and another panel beating business in Moonee Ponds.
Deicke describes himself as the “embodiment of dedication, innovation, and entrepreneurial success”, according to a website promoting his business interests, which also include property development, hospitality and life coaching.
“His journey, spanning over two decades, showcases a remarkable trajectory from a competitive boxer to a business innovator, and ultimately, a connoisseur of luxury,” Deicke’s website states.
Deicke, who is the half-brother of five-time world boxing champion Lester Ellis, has been linked to multiple fire-damaged properties. In 2023, he agreed to purchase a Portsea mansion for $8 million from former pathology executive Wallace Cameron, but the property was destroyed by fire before the deal closed.
One of the Melbourne Collision Repair Centre sites attacked by arsonists in July.Credit: Jason South
The cause of the fire has not been determined, and Deicke was refunded his $800,000 deposit.
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