It was the whine of a trail bike engine followed by the startling sound of a gun that signalled the end of Darko Janceski's life last April.
Before that moment it had been an ordinary Saturday afternoon in Berkeley's Gannet Avenue - now it was the scene of a brazen daylight murder.
Mr Janceski, 32, had been standing outside his parents' home when he was shot by a man on a trail bike.
One bullet struck him in the heart and he died on the way to hospital.
His father witnessed the shooting and confronted the rider but was assaulted and suffered serious facial injuries.
A handgun, helmet and sunglasses found after the shooting were seized by police for forensic examination. A blue Yamaha WR450 trail bike was found burnt several days later near the Nan Tien Temple.
Just five months before his death, Mr Janceski's house was firebombed and, in an unrelated incident, he was shot in the thigh.
Yesterday, following early-morning search warrants at two Illawarra addresses, two men were arrested and charged in connection with the killing.
A 24-year-old Blackbutt man has been charged with murder, while a 38-year-old Cordeaux Heights man was charged with solicit to murder.
They are expected to appear in Wollongong Local Court today.
Late last year Strike Force Calligan detectives revealed they believed Mr Janceski's murder was linked to the 2011 shooting murder of Saso Ristevski and the disappearance of Goran Nikolovski.
About 8.30pm on September 28, 2011, Mr Ristevski was gunned down in front of his parents in their Lake Heights home.
Mr Ristevski, a University of Wollongong commerce graduate and convicted drug trafficker, had been on parole for just over a year when a confrontation with three unknown men at the home turned violent, resulting in his shooting death.
Police revealed a witness saw the offenders running from the scene after the gunshot sounded.
Paramedics attempted to revive the 37-year-old but he died a short time later.
Just a month later, on the evening of October 31, 2011, Mr Nikolovski, 35, was last seen driving away from his Unanderra home.
His grey Honda Accord was found burnt out at Macquarie Pass early the following day.
Mr Nikolovski has not been seen or heard from since.
In November 2011 the Mercury revealed Mr Ristevski and Mr Nikolovski were former friends who were both busted in early 2004 for trafficking a 500-gram stash of cocaine.
Lead investigator Detective Inspector Dave Laidlaw revealed last September police believed the three incidents were linked.
Anyone with information, treated strictly confidentially, should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
