Peter Allen Reed

Reed was charged with attempted murder, recklessly causing serious injury, using a firearm to prevent apprehension and possessing explosives in suspicious circumstances in addition to charges related to the Russell Street bombing.

On March 27, 1986, a stolen Commodore loaded with 50 to 60 sticks of gelignite, some detonators and a timing device had been parked outside the Russell Street police station by a group of armed robbers with a pathological hatred for police.

At 15 seconds past one o'clock, just as Constable Angela Taylor was crossing Russell and La Trobe streets on her lunch run, the car exploded.

Ms Taylor's burns were critical and she died 24 days later.

Twenty-one people were injured in the blast.

The explosion caused massive amounts of damage to the police HQ and surrounding buildings, with damage estimated at more than A$1 million.

The Age reported that the blast had such an impact because of the open-floor design of the offices acted like a Claymore mine, sending more shrapnel as the blast ripped through the floors seemingly adding more pressure to the blast as it followed its path.

On October 7, 1985, gelignite and detonators had been stolen from the Tryconnel Mine at Blackwood and on March 25, 1986, a Holden Commodore was stolen.

Both crimes were later found to provide equipment needed for the construction of the bomb.

On April 25, 1986, ten Victoria Police officers police raided the Kallista home of Peter Reed at 5.45am.

It was alleged that upon attempting to enforce the arrest by forcing entry to the premises, Reed produced a .455 Smith and Wesson revolver and fired at police, seriously injuring Det Sgt Wylie.

Reed was then fired upon by Det Sgt Quinsee and arrested.

Reed later stated at his trial in unsworn evidence that "the police started the shooting and he only used his firearm in self defence".

On May 30, 1986, police arrested Stanley Brian Taylor during a 2am raid on his Birchip home.

Brothers Craig (left) and Rodney Minogue were arrested in a Swan Hill motel at 5.15 am later that day.

The crown did not allege that any person played any particular role in the bombing, but that each of them were members of a team which planned the bombing and caused the bomb to explode.

Evidence against the accused was as follows:

• Gelignite and detonators used in the construction of the bomb were of the same type as those stolen from Tryconnel Mine.
• Gelignite was found at Reed's house wrapped in newspaper containing fingerprints belonging to Rodney Minogue.
• Craig Minogue owned a pair of side cutters which produced cuts similar to those found on detonator wires.
• a file with traces of brass deposits matched with brass deposits found at the bomb site.
• a block of wood from which a wooden part of the bomb had been sawn was found at Craig Minogue's premises.
• tinned copper wire, similar to that used with detonators found at the bomb site, was found at Craig Minogue's premises.
• residue of gelignite matched residue found at a previous address of Craig Monigue in Lower Templestowe.
• evidence from a witness that Craig Minogue called around Easter 1986, to ask about the use of detonators

Taylor was convicted of murder, burglary and theft, car theft, intentionally causing serious injury and causing an explosion.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 24, 1988.

Reed was convicted of recklessly causing serious injury, using a firearm to prevent apprehension and possessing explosives in suspicious circumstances. he received 13 years with a non-parole period of 11.

Craig Minogue was convicted of murder, car theft, intentionally causing serious injury and causing an explosion. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years.

Rodney Minogue was convicted of murder, car theft, intentionally causing serious injury and causing an explosion. He was sentenced to eight years with a non-parole period of six.

Reed claimed that in 1988 notorious murderer Greg 'Bluey' Brazel crept into his Pentridge cell and repeatedly stabbed him with a pair of scissors.

Brazel was charged with attempted murder, but Magistrate Brian Barrow later ruled there was insufficient evidence to send Brazel to trial.

Peter Reed was arrested on a burglary charge with Mark Anthony Smith in 1999.

Smith was close to the Moran family, one of two major factions battling for supremacy in the drugs trade.

Their main rival was a gang operating around Carl Williams (right) and his father George.

Smith was shot in December 2002, it was believed his assailant was a Williams’ associate.

Smith, a convicted murderer, was shot shot three times in the driveway of his Old Calder Highway home.

A man believed to be the shooter, fled the scene.

Police suspected Smith accepted a contract to murder drug dealer Jason Moran (with the help of the notorious Victor Peirce) he did not fulfil.

The attempt to kill Smith failed.

He recovered and fled to Queensland for several months.

Reed, who was later jailed on charges of burglary and attempted murder, married Nicola Hodson.

Her father Terrence Hodson, a career criminal, and her mother Christine were murdered at their East Kew home in May 2004.

Terence Hodson allegedly told police that his daughter and her husband had been involved in a number of burglaries after he and Reed had a disagreement.