A man was lured from a relative’s home and shot dead in a brazen late-night attack on Mahoneys Road, in what Homicide Squad detectives believe was a carefully planned, targeted killing linked to Melbourne’s underworld.
Emergency services were called to Unit 4, 119–125 Mahoneys Road, shortly before midnight on Tuesday 28 October 2026, after reports a man had been shot. The victim, later identified as 55-year-old Richmond man Elias Serevetas, died at the scene after being struck multiple times to the upper body.
It is understood Serevetas left the property to meet someone he had been communicating with. As he stepped outside, a single male offender allegedly got out of a parked black Lexus SUV, ran towards him and fired multiple shots before fleeing in the same vehicle.
CCTV from the area is understood to have captured the sound of at least six gunshots. The offender remains at large, and no arrests have been made.
The alleged getaway car was a black Lexus with New South Wales plates. It was found engulfed in flames on Robinvale Avenue in nearby Thomastown a short time later. A white Toyota Corolla hatchback was then seen leaving the car fire.
About 2:00am, a white TOYOTA Corolla with stolen plates allegedly evaded a police attempt to stop it before being abandoned in Drive, Thomastown. Investigators are working to establish whether it was the same vehicle used after the shooting. Peak Hour Images has obtained CCTV showing this Corolla being dumped.
At 1:11pm a man believed to possibly be John Serevetas wearing orange high-vis left the premises and walked to the front footpath and collected the mail from the Unit 4 mailbox.
At 1:15pm, Detective Inspector Leigh Howse confirmed Serevetas was known to police and had links to “serious and organised crime entities and networks”, which detectives are treating as a focal point of the investigation. Police are also examining possible connections to imprisoned illicit-tobacco figure Kazem Hamad, though no link has been confirmed.Victoria Police Detective Inspector Leigh Howse from the Homicide Squad said the attack appeared to have involved significant planning. “Although it involved only one lone offender who committed the actual act, others would have specific knowledge of who orchestrated and commissioned this incident,” he said.
Peak Hour Images chief crime reporter and lead photographer, Lord Murray Schoorman attended the scene on Wednesday as detectives continued their examination. The Mahoneys Road unit is covered by multiple CCTV cameras, including a camera positioned in the eye socket of a skeleton mounted on the roof.
Elias Serevetas, born on 30 December 1970 in Carlton, was the father of George “Snowman Adam” Serevetas, who was charged in 2024 over the alleged extortion of a Glenroy tobacco-store owner. That case was later withdrawn after witnesses withdrew their complaints. George Serevetas was recently sentenced to a community corrections order over offending involving stolen gift-card data.
Elias Serevetas had previously given evidence at his son’s bail application, telling the court the pair argued about drug use and that he wanted his son to enter rehabilitation. Court material also referred to Serevetas’s own significant criminal history, including time in prison.
Public records list Elias Serevetas as the sole director of All In One 24/7 Pty Ltd since 2014, with the company’s registered office at this Mahoneys Road address and its principal place of business listed as a tobacco, accessories (and Vapes) retail shop located at 154 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 6430.
In a possible coincidence, Elias Serevetas had been due to face the Neighbourhood Justice Centre in Collingwood today over driving allegations from January 2026. The matter was withdrawn following his death.
It is not known why Elias may have been singled out. But the shooting, the latest in a string of firearm incidents across Melbourne in recent weeks, has once again turned a thriving and busy road into a homicide investigation, with police warning that those behind the alleged plot may still be hiding in plain sight.Police are appealing for dashcam, CCTV or witness information from anyone who travelled through Reservoir or Thomastown between 10.30pm and 1am. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.
