Ricky Chapman, the former Bandido bikie vice president who died overnight at a Rio Tinto site in WA's far north, crammed plenty into his 32 years.
In December 2020, he found himself thrust into the biggest crime story seen in WA for decades, when he was sitting alongside his quasi father-in-law Nick Martin when the Rebels boss was fatally shot by a former soldier with a sniper rifle.
Chapman was there because he was dating Martin's step-daughter Stacey Schoppe, and the incident also indirectly landed the ex Bandido back in jail, for breaching his parole conditions.
As Ben Harvey explains on Up Late, Chapman's life was one filled with drama and violence.
"He was out on parole when he was on the Perth Motorplex on the night of December 12, 2020," Harvey said.
"He'd done a five-and-a-half year stretch for selling meth to an undercover cop back in 2015.
"And he was sitting next to Martin because he was going out with Martin's step-daughter, Stacey Schoppe.
"After having bullet fragments removed from his arm, Ricky walked out of hospital and pretty much straight back into jail after breaching his parole by associating with bikies."
But Chapman had appeared to have turned over a new leaf on his release from prison, which makes his early death even more tragic.
"He claimed to have turned his life around when he got out of prison last April," Harvey said.
"It's very hard to go completely straight when you've led a life like Ricky Chapman.
"He was a vice president of the Bandidos and he was a key figure in one of Australia's most notorious bikie dust-ups.
"The Broadbeach bikie brawl as it became known erupted on the Gold Coast in 2013.
"Chapman, who was only about 23 at the time, was part of a lynch mob of 20 Bandidos who were hunting an associate of the Finks bikie gang, Jason Trouchet.
"Trouchet was a rival of Bandidos bikie boss Jacques Teamo."
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Infamous Motorplex shooting victim in shock death after leaving gang life
This time last year Ricky Chapman walked out of Perth's hardest jail claiming he was a reformed ex-bikie in pursuit of making a new life for himself.
But that life — during which he spent time in various foster homes, as well as stints in prison and endured a brush with death from a sniper's bullet — was suddenly cut short this week.
The former Bandidos vicepresident, 32, died after suffering a "medical episode" while on shift at Rio Tinto's Cape Lambert iron ore port, 40km north of Karratha in the Pilbara region, on Wednesday.
Chapman was embroiled in WA's most brazen bikie assassination when he was struck by the bullet that killed former Rebels boss Nick Martin at the Perth Motorplex in December 2020. A former Australian soldier, allegedly hired by Martin's underworld rival David Pye, was sentenced to 20 years jail over the murder.
"Our thoughts are with the deceased person's family, friends, and colleagues at Cape Lambert who have been offered our full support including counselling services," Rio said in a statement after Chapman's death.
WorkSafe Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said on Thursday information received indicated Chapman may have died of natural causes.
Chapman's mother Suzy told The West Australian: "I just want my boy back."
It came just hours after she shared the news of her son's death online.
"I would like to inform friends and distance (sic) family Ricky Chapman passed away last night," she posted.
In a goodbye message to Chapman, another person to pay tribute, Nat Carroll, referenced Chapman's last post on social media, which he shared a day before his death. Carroll said the post "couldn't be any more perfect".
It featured a flower with the words: "I hope that you become filled with so much happiness that it heals every part of you."
WA Police are conducting a coronial investigation of the sudden death and have confirmed it is not being treated as suspicious.
Chapman was sitting behind Martin, pictured right, when the bikie chief was shot dead by the sniper. Next to him was his then-girlfriend, Martin's stepdaughter Stacey Schoppe.
Chapman was left with bullet fragments in his arm after the shooting and rushed to hospital under police guard.
At the time, he was on parole after serving 5 1/2 years behind bars for selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer.
Days after the assassination Chapman was arrested and taken back into custody for breaching his parole by consorting with bikies.
The former Gold Coast bikie eventually walked out of prison last April and into the arms of Ms Schoppe.
When Chapman was initially sent back to jail she said her beau had left the outlaw life behind.
"Who he was in the past is not who he is now," she said. "He left the Bandidos when we got together. He's even had his club tattoos covered over and is still having laser to remove his face tattoos.
"He has left that (bikie) life behind and is bettering himself every day, he has a great job doing FIFO and we have been trying to start a family." It is understood the pair recently broke up, with a source close to Ms Schoppe saying they had both been staying at Amanda Martin's Gnangara home in the lead-up to the split.
Since his release from jail, Chapman had been doing his utmost to show the world he had left the bikie life behind.
Many of the social media photos posted online revolved not around motorbikes and gang patches but images of his dog, him and his workmates in high-vis gear and of himself at the gym.
Before being jailed for drug offences Chapman first gained notoriety in 2013 when he took part in the Gold Coast's infamous Broadbeach bikie brawl.
Chapman, then just 23, joined about 20 fellow Bandidos as they roared into Broadbeach to hunt down Finks associate Jason Trouchet — a bitter rival of the gang's leader Jacques Teamo.
Chapman was among the 18 gang members arrested and charged with rioting.
He originally entered a guilty plea, then tried to backflip — arguing he hadn't been able to read a document he'd been asked to sign by his lawyer. He was later sentenced on a lesser charge.
It was after relocating to Perth that he was caught dealing methamphetamine to an undercover policeman four times.
In handing down the 5 1/2-year jail term to Chapman for his drug crimes, Judge Alan Troy revealed Chapman's turbulent upbringing had resulted in him being left with a violent stepfather and eventually being placed into foster care.
In December 2020, he found himself thrust into the biggest crime story seen in WA for decades, when he was sitting alongside his quasi father-in-law Nick Martin when the Rebels boss was fatally shot by a former soldier with a sniper rifle.
Chapman was there because he was dating Martin's step-daughter Stacey Schoppe, and the incident also indirectly landed the ex Bandido back in jail, for breaching his parole conditions.
As Ben Harvey explains on Up Late, Chapman's life was one filled with drama and violence.
"He was out on parole when he was on the Perth Motorplex on the night of December 12, 2020," Harvey said.
"He'd done a five-and-a-half year stretch for selling meth to an undercover cop back in 2015.
"And he was sitting next to Martin because he was going out with Martin's step-daughter, Stacey Schoppe.
"After having bullet fragments removed from his arm, Ricky walked out of hospital and pretty much straight back into jail after breaching his parole by associating with bikies."
But Chapman had appeared to have turned over a new leaf on his release from prison, which makes his early death even more tragic.
"He claimed to have turned his life around when he got out of prison last April," Harvey said.
"It's very hard to go completely straight when you've led a life like Ricky Chapman.
"He was a vice president of the Bandidos and he was a key figure in one of Australia's most notorious bikie dust-ups.
"The Broadbeach bikie brawl as it became known erupted on the Gold Coast in 2013.
"Chapman, who was only about 23 at the time, was part of a lynch mob of 20 Bandidos who were hunting an associate of the Finks bikie gang, Jason Trouchet.
"Trouchet was a rival of Bandidos bikie boss Jacques Teamo."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infamous Motorplex shooting victim in shock death after leaving gang life
This time last year Ricky Chapman walked out of Perth's hardest jail claiming he was a reformed ex-bikie in pursuit of making a new life for himself.
But that life — during which he spent time in various foster homes, as well as stints in prison and endured a brush with death from a sniper's bullet — was suddenly cut short this week.
The former Bandidos vicepresident, 32, died after suffering a "medical episode" while on shift at Rio Tinto's Cape Lambert iron ore port, 40km north of Karratha in the Pilbara region, on Wednesday.
Chapman was embroiled in WA's most brazen bikie assassination when he was struck by the bullet that killed former Rebels boss Nick Martin at the Perth Motorplex in December 2020. A former Australian soldier, allegedly hired by Martin's underworld rival David Pye, was sentenced to 20 years jail over the murder.
"Our thoughts are with the deceased person's family, friends, and colleagues at Cape Lambert who have been offered our full support including counselling services," Rio said in a statement after Chapman's death.
WorkSafe Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said on Thursday information received indicated Chapman may have died of natural causes.
Chapman's mother Suzy told The West Australian: "I just want my boy back."
It came just hours after she shared the news of her son's death online.
"I would like to inform friends and distance (sic) family Ricky Chapman passed away last night," she posted.
In a goodbye message to Chapman, another person to pay tribute, Nat Carroll, referenced Chapman's last post on social media, which he shared a day before his death. Carroll said the post "couldn't be any more perfect".
It featured a flower with the words: "I hope that you become filled with so much happiness that it heals every part of you."
WA Police are conducting a coronial investigation of the sudden death and have confirmed it is not being treated as suspicious.
Chapman was sitting behind Martin, pictured right, when the bikie chief was shot dead by the sniper. Next to him was his then-girlfriend, Martin's stepdaughter Stacey Schoppe.
Chapman was left with bullet fragments in his arm after the shooting and rushed to hospital under police guard.
At the time, he was on parole after serving 5 1/2 years behind bars for selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer.
Days after the assassination Chapman was arrested and taken back into custody for breaching his parole by consorting with bikies.
The former Gold Coast bikie eventually walked out of prison last April and into the arms of Ms Schoppe.
When Chapman was initially sent back to jail she said her beau had left the outlaw life behind.
"Who he was in the past is not who he is now," she said. "He left the Bandidos when we got together. He's even had his club tattoos covered over and is still having laser to remove his face tattoos.
"He has left that (bikie) life behind and is bettering himself every day, he has a great job doing FIFO and we have been trying to start a family." It is understood the pair recently broke up, with a source close to Ms Schoppe saying they had both been staying at Amanda Martin's Gnangara home in the lead-up to the split.
Since his release from jail, Chapman had been doing his utmost to show the world he had left the bikie life behind.
Many of the social media photos posted online revolved not around motorbikes and gang patches but images of his dog, him and his workmates in high-vis gear and of himself at the gym.
Before being jailed for drug offences Chapman first gained notoriety in 2013 when he took part in the Gold Coast's infamous Broadbeach bikie brawl.
Chapman, then just 23, joined about 20 fellow Bandidos as they roared into Broadbeach to hunt down Finks associate Jason Trouchet — a bitter rival of the gang's leader Jacques Teamo.
Chapman was among the 18 gang members arrested and charged with rioting.
He originally entered a guilty plea, then tried to backflip — arguing he hadn't been able to read a document he'd been asked to sign by his lawyer. He was later sentenced on a lesser charge.
It was after relocating to Perth that he was caught dealing methamphetamine to an undercover policeman four times.
In handing down the 5 1/2-year jail term to Chapman for his drug crimes, Judge Alan Troy revealed Chapman's turbulent upbringing had resulted in him being left with a violent stepfather and eventually being placed into foster care.
Ricky Chapman, the former Bandido bikie vice president who died overnight at a Rio Tinto site in WA's far north, crammed plenty into his 32 years.
In December 2020, he found himself thrust into the biggest crime story seen in WA for decades, when he was sitting alongside his quasi father-in-law Nick Martin when the Rebels boss was fatally shot by a former soldier with a sniper rifle.
Chapman was there because he was dating Martin's step-daughter Stacey Schoppe, and the incident also indirectly landed the ex Bandido back in jail, for breaching his parole conditions.
As Ben Harvey explains on Up Late, Chapman's life was one filled with drama and violence.
"He was out on parole when he was on the Perth Motorplex on the night of December 12, 2020," Harvey said.
"He'd done a five-and-a-half year stretch for selling meth to an undercover cop back in 2015.
"And he was sitting next to Martin because he was going out with Martin's step-daughter, Stacey Schoppe.
"After having bullet fragments removed from his arm, Ricky walked out of hospital and pretty much straight back into jail after breaching his parole by associating with bikies."
But Chapman had appeared to have turned over a new leaf on his release from prison, which makes his early death even more tragic.
"He claimed to have turned his life around when he got out of prison last April," Harvey said.
"It's very hard to go completely straight when you've led a life like Ricky Chapman.
"He was a vice president of the Bandidos and he was a key figure in one of Australia's most notorious bikie dust-ups.
"The Broadbeach bikie brawl as it became known erupted on the Gold Coast in 2013.
"Chapman, who was only about 23 at the time, was part of a lynch mob of 20 Bandidos who were hunting an associate of the Finks bikie gang, Jason Trouchet.
"Trouchet was a rival of Bandidos bikie boss Jacques Teamo."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infamous Motorplex shooting victim in shock death after leaving gang life
This time last year Ricky Chapman walked out of Perth's hardest jail claiming he was a reformed ex-bikie in pursuit of making a new life for himself.
But that life — during which he spent time in various foster homes, as well as stints in prison and endured a brush with death from a sniper's bullet — was suddenly cut short this week.
The former Bandidos vicepresident, 32, died after suffering a "medical episode" while on shift at Rio Tinto's Cape Lambert iron ore port, 40km north of Karratha in the Pilbara region, on Wednesday.
Chapman was embroiled in WA's most brazen bikie assassination when he was struck by the bullet that killed former Rebels boss Nick Martin at the Perth Motorplex in December 2020. A former Australian soldier, allegedly hired by Martin's underworld rival David Pye, was sentenced to 20 years jail over the murder.
"Our thoughts are with the deceased person's family, friends, and colleagues at Cape Lambert who have been offered our full support including counselling services," Rio said in a statement after Chapman's death.
WorkSafe Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said on Thursday information received indicated Chapman may have died of natural causes.
Chapman's mother Suzy told The West Australian: "I just want my boy back."
It came just hours after she shared the news of her son's death online.
"I would like to inform friends and distance (sic) family Ricky Chapman passed away last night," she posted.
In a goodbye message to Chapman, another person to pay tribute, Nat Carroll, referenced Chapman's last post on social media, which he shared a day before his death. Carroll said the post "couldn't be any more perfect".
It featured a flower with the words: "I hope that you become filled with so much happiness that it heals every part of you."
WA Police are conducting a coronial investigation of the sudden death and have confirmed it is not being treated as suspicious.
Chapman was sitting behind Martin, pictured right, when the bikie chief was shot dead by the sniper. Next to him was his then-girlfriend, Martin's stepdaughter Stacey Schoppe.
Chapman was left with bullet fragments in his arm after the shooting and rushed to hospital under police guard.
At the time, he was on parole after serving 5 1/2 years behind bars for selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer.
Days after the assassination Chapman was arrested and taken back into custody for breaching his parole by consorting with bikies.
The former Gold Coast bikie eventually walked out of prison last April and into the arms of Ms Schoppe.
When Chapman was initially sent back to jail she said her beau had left the outlaw life behind.
"Who he was in the past is not who he is now," she said. "He left the Bandidos when we got together. He's even had his club tattoos covered over and is still having laser to remove his face tattoos.
"He has left that (bikie) life behind and is bettering himself every day, he has a great job doing FIFO and we have been trying to start a family." It is understood the pair recently broke up, with a source close to Ms Schoppe saying they had both been staying at Amanda Martin's Gnangara home in the lead-up to the split.
Since his release from jail, Chapman had been doing his utmost to show the world he had left the bikie life behind.
Many of the social media photos posted online revolved not around motorbikes and gang patches but images of his dog, him and his workmates in high-vis gear and of himself at the gym.
Before being jailed for drug offences Chapman first gained notoriety in 2013 when he took part in the Gold Coast's infamous Broadbeach bikie brawl.
Chapman, then just 23, joined about 20 fellow Bandidos as they roared into Broadbeach to hunt down Finks associate Jason Trouchet — a bitter rival of the gang's leader Jacques Teamo.
Chapman was among the 18 gang members arrested and charged with rioting.
He originally entered a guilty plea, then tried to backflip — arguing he hadn't been able to read a document he'd been asked to sign by his lawyer. He was later sentenced on a lesser charge.
It was after relocating to Perth that he was caught dealing methamphetamine to an undercover policeman four times.
In handing down the 5 1/2-year jail term to Chapman for his drug crimes, Judge Alan Troy revealed Chapman's turbulent upbringing had resulted in him being left with a violent stepfather and eventually being placed into foster care.
In December 2020, he found himself thrust into the biggest crime story seen in WA for decades, when he was sitting alongside his quasi father-in-law Nick Martin when the Rebels boss was fatally shot by a former soldier with a sniper rifle.
Chapman was there because he was dating Martin's step-daughter Stacey Schoppe, and the incident also indirectly landed the ex Bandido back in jail, for breaching his parole conditions.
As Ben Harvey explains on Up Late, Chapman's life was one filled with drama and violence.
"He was out on parole when he was on the Perth Motorplex on the night of December 12, 2020," Harvey said.
"He'd done a five-and-a-half year stretch for selling meth to an undercover cop back in 2015.
"And he was sitting next to Martin because he was going out with Martin's step-daughter, Stacey Schoppe.
"After having bullet fragments removed from his arm, Ricky walked out of hospital and pretty much straight back into jail after breaching his parole by associating with bikies."
But Chapman had appeared to have turned over a new leaf on his release from prison, which makes his early death even more tragic.
"He claimed to have turned his life around when he got out of prison last April," Harvey said.
"It's very hard to go completely straight when you've led a life like Ricky Chapman.
"He was a vice president of the Bandidos and he was a key figure in one of Australia's most notorious bikie dust-ups.
"The Broadbeach bikie brawl as it became known erupted on the Gold Coast in 2013.
"Chapman, who was only about 23 at the time, was part of a lynch mob of 20 Bandidos who were hunting an associate of the Finks bikie gang, Jason Trouchet.
"Trouchet was a rival of Bandidos bikie boss Jacques Teamo."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infamous Motorplex shooting victim in shock death after leaving gang life
This time last year Ricky Chapman walked out of Perth's hardest jail claiming he was a reformed ex-bikie in pursuit of making a new life for himself.
But that life — during which he spent time in various foster homes, as well as stints in prison and endured a brush with death from a sniper's bullet — was suddenly cut short this week.
The former Bandidos vicepresident, 32, died after suffering a "medical episode" while on shift at Rio Tinto's Cape Lambert iron ore port, 40km north of Karratha in the Pilbara region, on Wednesday.
Chapman was embroiled in WA's most brazen bikie assassination when he was struck by the bullet that killed former Rebels boss Nick Martin at the Perth Motorplex in December 2020. A former Australian soldier, allegedly hired by Martin's underworld rival David Pye, was sentenced to 20 years jail over the murder.
"Our thoughts are with the deceased person's family, friends, and colleagues at Cape Lambert who have been offered our full support including counselling services," Rio said in a statement after Chapman's death.
WorkSafe Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said on Thursday information received indicated Chapman may have died of natural causes.
Chapman's mother Suzy told The West Australian: "I just want my boy back."
It came just hours after she shared the news of her son's death online.
"I would like to inform friends and distance (sic) family Ricky Chapman passed away last night," she posted.
In a goodbye message to Chapman, another person to pay tribute, Nat Carroll, referenced Chapman's last post on social media, which he shared a day before his death. Carroll said the post "couldn't be any more perfect".
It featured a flower with the words: "I hope that you become filled with so much happiness that it heals every part of you."
WA Police are conducting a coronial investigation of the sudden death and have confirmed it is not being treated as suspicious.
Chapman was sitting behind Martin, pictured right, when the bikie chief was shot dead by the sniper. Next to him was his then-girlfriend, Martin's stepdaughter Stacey Schoppe.
Chapman was left with bullet fragments in his arm after the shooting and rushed to hospital under police guard.
At the time, he was on parole after serving 5 1/2 years behind bars for selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer.
Days after the assassination Chapman was arrested and taken back into custody for breaching his parole by consorting with bikies.
The former Gold Coast bikie eventually walked out of prison last April and into the arms of Ms Schoppe.
When Chapman was initially sent back to jail she said her beau had left the outlaw life behind.
"Who he was in the past is not who he is now," she said. "He left the Bandidos when we got together. He's even had his club tattoos covered over and is still having laser to remove his face tattoos.
"He has left that (bikie) life behind and is bettering himself every day, he has a great job doing FIFO and we have been trying to start a family." It is understood the pair recently broke up, with a source close to Ms Schoppe saying they had both been staying at Amanda Martin's Gnangara home in the lead-up to the split.
Since his release from jail, Chapman had been doing his utmost to show the world he had left the bikie life behind.
Many of the social media photos posted online revolved not around motorbikes and gang patches but images of his dog, him and his workmates in high-vis gear and of himself at the gym.
Before being jailed for drug offences Chapman first gained notoriety in 2013 when he took part in the Gold Coast's infamous Broadbeach bikie brawl.
Chapman, then just 23, joined about 20 fellow Bandidos as they roared into Broadbeach to hunt down Finks associate Jason Trouchet — a bitter rival of the gang's leader Jacques Teamo.
Chapman was among the 18 gang members arrested and charged with rioting.
He originally entered a guilty plea, then tried to backflip — arguing he hadn't been able to read a document he'd been asked to sign by his lawyer. He was later sentenced on a lesser charge.
It was after relocating to Perth that he was caught dealing methamphetamine to an undercover policeman four times.
In handing down the 5 1/2-year jail term to Chapman for his drug crimes, Judge Alan Troy revealed Chapman's turbulent upbringing had resulted in him being left with a violent stepfather and eventually being placed into foster care.
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