Court orders suppression of alleged Gouger St shooter’s identity    
SEAN FEWSTER, COURT REPORTER/ The Advertiser
* thanks to Mullah
THE face of the man accused of the third Gouger St shooting in five months is now a state secret.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court today banned publication of the image of Soniard Mrishaj,(an Albanian Muslim) whom prosecutors allege injured one man and almost shot two others during the early-morning gunfight on Sunday morning.
The court also banned any written or verbal description of the 23-year-old, saying his identity could be a “critical” piece of evidence in the case against him.
Mrishaj, of Henley Beach, made a brief appearance in court today.
The Advertiser understands he is originally from Albania, and is in Australia on a visitor’s visa.
He has yet to plead to charges of aggravated causing harm, endangering life and possessing a firearm.
About 1am on Sunday, a young man was shot in the leg outside Gaucho’s Argentinian Restaurant.Â
A stray bullet narrowly missed a woman and driver in a nearby taxi when two shots were fired by a man with a handgun following an alleged dispute between two groups of men.Â
The woman received minor cuts from flying glass.
Today, Mark Griffin, QC, for Mrishaj, asked the court order home detention and bail assessment reports regarding his client.
He also asked Mrishaj’s image and “current physical description” be suppressed “until further order”.
“Identity will be a critical issue in this case,” he said.
“Media publication of his image would prejudice the proper administration of justice.”
Magistrate Michael Ward imposed the suppression, ordered the reports and remanded Mrishaj in custody until Monday.
Sunday’s incident was the third shooting in one of Adelaide’s premier restaurant strips in the past five months.
In May, 12 men allegedly linked with outlaw motorcycle gangs were involved in a wild shootout outside Gaucho’s, forcing diners to duck under tables for cover.
In June, a teenage gunman fired several shots through a window at the Buddha Bar.
Nice to see how Australia’s court system is a lot like that in the US-broken.