Alexandra Newspapers

8 hours ago

FURTHER ARRESTS RE DESMOND FREEMAN

FROM POLICE MEDIA: Police have executed seven warrants this morning at properties across Victoria and New South Wales as part of the ongoing investigation by Taskforce Summit into the movements of Desmond Freeman after he fatally shot two on-duty police in Porepunkah last year.

Warrants were executed by Victoria Police at three rural properties in Buckland, Stanley and Lucyvale from just after 6.20am on Tuesday, 16 June.

At the same time, warrants were executed by NSW Police as part of Strikeforce Namberta, in coordination with Taskforce Summit investigators, at four residential properties in Greenwich Park, Tarlo, Wombeyan Caves and Umina Beach.

Searches of those properties remain underway, and police have seized a range of electronic devices from the addresses.

A 64-year-old Lucyvale man was arrested in Wodonga and will be interviewed by police.

A 47-year-old Wombeyan Caves man was also arrested in Greenwich Park on unrelated outstanding warrants.

There are no further arrests at this time, however police are speaking with a number of occupants at the various premises.

Today’s warrants form part of the Taskforce Summit investigation into the movements of Desmond Freeman following an incident at his Porepunkah property on 26 August last year.

About 10.30am that morning, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart were fatally shot by 56-year-old Freeman during a confrontation at the Rayner Track address.

A third officer was also seriously injured after being shot in the lower body.

The officers were executing a search warrant as part of an investigation by the Wangaratta Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team.

Freeman left the address following the fatal shooting and despite a number of large-scale searches undertaken in the Porepunkah area, he was not located for over seven months.

On 30 March, a confrontation occurred between police and Freeman at a rural property in Thologolong which resulted in him being fatally shot.

The shooting occurred at the property shortly after 8.30am following a stand-off of several hours with police, including members of the Special Operations Group and detectives from Taskforce Summit.

Police rendered assistance however Freeman died at the scene.

No one else was present at the property and no police were physically injured during the incident.

Both the initial fatal shooting in Porepunkah and the subsequent fatal shooting in Thologolong are now subject to coronial investigation.

Detectives are keen to speak to anyone who may have knowledge of Freeman’s movements between August 2025 and March 2026.

It is believed he travelled between Victoria and NSW and received assistance from a number of different people during that time.

Taskforce Summit was established following the fatal shooting in Porepunkah to lead the search for Freeman and investigation into his movements, and is comprised of detectives from Crime Command, including specialist resources from the Fugitive Squad, Armed Crime Squad and VIPER Taskforce, and supported by Special Operations Group, Search and Rescue Squad, and local Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems members.

Anyone with any information on Freeman’s movements is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Victoria via 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Detective Inspector Anthony Gasparini, Taskforce Summit said, "Since the fatal shooting in Porepunkah in August last year, police have worked tirelessly to piece together the events of the day and also the subsequent movements of Freeman leading up to his death in Thologolong.

“It’s important that we provide answers to the families of the police who were shot and killed in Porepunkah, as well as other police members who were impacted by the incident. We also have to consider the broader Porepunkah community who were affected for many months, as well providing a thorough response as part of the coronial investigation.

“Part of this involves determining Freeman’s movements after the fatal shooting and who may have assisted him before he was ultimately located in Thologolong.

“The investigation does not stop simply because Freeman was located.

“We said from the outset that if alive, Freeman would likely need significant support to leave the area and survive over the following months. To that end, we are looking to identify and hold to account those people who provided that support to harbour a wanted fugitive and have potentially committed serious offences themselves.

“We are keen to speak to anyone who may have information about Freeman’s movements in the seven months leading up to his death, including those in the areas where warrants have been conducted today.

“We can also assure anyone who is willing to speak to police or provide information, that this can be done confidentially via Crime Stoppers.” ... See MoreSee Less