A man accused of being part of a group of 11 who allegedly murdered a teenage boy has been granted bail despite a judge’s concerns over his conduct on remand and where he will stay on release.

Taataa Tafa, 21, is awaiting trial for murder, along with Soreysa Jibrael, 24, and nine teenage boys who cannot be named, over the death of 15-year-old Solomone Taufeulungaki, who was stabbed in a brawl outside Brimbank Shopping Centre in Deer Park on June 16 last year.

Solomone Taufeulungaki was fatally stabbed in a brawl.

All 11 accused have pleaded not guilty to murder and most are on bail.

Supreme Court judge Justice Paul Coghlan granted Mr Tafa’s application for bail on Tuesday, despite not being convinced his proposed accommodation was sustainable.

Mr Tafa will stay with a friend of his father’s in St Albans despite never having met the woman, and even though she conceded there was a chance he could be a negative influence on her two sons, aged 22 and 17.

Analega Leleisiuao said Mr Tafa would share a bedroom with her youngest son and, while she would treat him “like one of us”, she admitted she had considered the potential negative impact he could have on her household.

“I want him to trust me and I want to trust him just like … my sons,” she said.

Justice Coghlan said the living arrangement was far from ideal and he was also concerned by the nature of phone calls between Mr Tafa and those close to him while he was on remand.

“Perhaps we should let her [Ms Leleisiuao] read all the [transcripts of the] calls and see what she thinks,” he said.

Solomone Taufeulungaki.

Despite those misgivings, Justice Coghlan granted bail because it could be a long time before the potentially complex trial starts. A trial date for the 11 males is yet to be set.

“To keep a young person on remand for that time is not justified,” the judge said.

Justice Coghlan last year granted bail to all nine boys but three of them are back in custody, having had that privilege revoked. Mr Jibrael has not sought bail and remains in custody.

Ms Leleisiuao and a youth worker who will sponsor Mr Tafa both promised they would contact police if he breached bail conditions, which include orders not to associate with his co-accused, to stay off social media and not go near the shopping centre. Prosecutors opposed bail.

Justice Coghlan said concerns over Mr Tafa’s bail could be addressed through the conditions, and he attributed to youthful bravado the things the young man told his associates in the phone calls.

The judge warned the accused he would revoke bail “in a heartbeat” if he breached his conditions, and he urged Mr Tafa not to let down those who had put trust in him.

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