Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston: The tell-tale signs feared criminal may have been set up for public execution as he sat at an outdoor café drinking an orange juice – amid claims his killers knew where and when he would be

Police are investigating claims that murdered criminal Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston was framed by someone he trusted.

Preston was riddled with bullets on Saturday while having breakfast with the son of his former mate Nabil ‘Mad Lebo’ Maghnie in Keilor, in Melbourne’s northwest.

Abbas Maghnie Jr, better known as AJ, was shot in the stomach as he ran from Preston’s executioner at the Sweet Lulus cafe.

Reports emerged on Tuesday that the masked killer and his getaway driver had parked opposite the site of the attack for three hours before the deadly ambush.

Chilling CCTV footage showed Preston never knew what hit him as he sat across the table from Maghnie Jnr and sipped an orange juice when death greeted him.

The pair sat outside the cafe, right on the road.

Preston’s burly associate, who bears a strong physical resemblance to his also deceased father, managed to get out as Preston was peppered with bullets.

Maghnie Jr is still in hospital and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting it was he who lured Preston to his death.

“It’s worth remembering that he was almost killed too,” a source with close criminal associates told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.

An employee who worked near Sweet Lulus told me The Australian the killers seemed to know exactly where Preston would be.

‘The black Audi they were in pulled into the car park at 7am. So they waited for more than three hours before they could take the step,” the worker said.

“They were parked at the end of this parking lot. They have created a loop. Then they went back outside and that’s when the shooting happened.”

The Audi was driven away just seconds after the shooting and was dumped in Blair Court, a residential street about 1km from the accident scene.

The decision to dump the getaway car in the densely populated area on a busy Saturday morning is likely to come back to haunt the stubborn killers, who failed to destroy the car.

On Tuesday, reports emerged that one of the hitmen had set himself on fire while trying to set fire to the Audi Q5, which was quickly extinguished by a Good Samaritan seconds after it was set on fire.

The vehicle could contain important clues to identifying the killers.

The clumsy arsonist is also likely to be left with serious injuries to his face and arms.

A black Volkswagen Polo, which was abandoned in Cadiz Place, just three kilometers away, is believed to be the vehicle in which the men fled the Audi.

The error bears similarities to that of jailed Melbourne gangster George Marrogi, a person involved in Preston’s public execution.

Kadir Ors, a known drug dealer, was also lured to a location where Marrogi was able to shoot him on September 24, 2016.

As with Preston’s execution, Marrogi was caught on CCTV, dressed in black, repeatedly shooting at his target.

Marrogi fired so many rounds that he had to reload and left an ammunition box in a red Commodore he used in the killing.

Marrogi’s DNA was on the box, allowing detectives to put him behind bars for 32 years in December 2021.

Jesse Marrogi – George’s brother – reportedly made Preston so angry that he threatened to not only bash him, but also rape him once he was released from prison.

Jesse is the girlfriend of Sabrine Maghnie, 23, and the brother of Maghnie Jnr.

While the motive behind Preston’s murder remains unknown, it is clear that detectives are interested in knowing if he had anything to do with last month’s attempt to steal the body of Meshilin Marrogi, George’s late sister, from the family crypt at Preston General Cemetery.

Meshilin – a beautician – had tragically died from complications related to Covid 19.

Her death had severely affected her imprisoned brother and he was not allowed to attend her funeral.

Sabrine reportedly met with Preston between three and four weeks ago, which is of interest to Homicide Squad detectives tasked with solving the case. The age reported.

Her relationship with Jesse has long raised eyebrows in criminal circles due to her own father’s well-known hatred of George Marrogi when he was alive.

George Marrogi and Nabil Maghnie tried to kill each other before Maghnie was shot dead and Marrogi was jailed for 32 years for murder.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that Sabrine Maghnie had anything to do with Preston’s execution, only that it has been reported that she may have met with her father’s old boyfriend.

Preston may also have been targeted for helping himself to allegedly stolen trucks from a trucking company linked to the Marrogi clan.

The investigation is still ongoing.