Warilla teen denies samurai stabbing

By Courtney Trenwith
Updated November 5 2012 - 8:25pm, first published July 28 2009 - 11:23am

A Warilla teenager has denied repeatedly stabbing a 16-year-old and chasing a man down a street with a samurai sword after mistakenly believing the victims were members of a rival gang.Police allege Andrew Coe, 18, is a member of the gang CMF and was one of four men who wielded samurai swords while chasing a man they believed was a member of rival gang Young Warilla Boys.During the June 13 attack, co-accused Matthew Kelly James Woods, 20, of Barrack Heights, allegedly told the victim, "Now it's your time to be killed - all of us boys stick together."The victim was chased until he reached a friend's house, police said.About 1.30am on June 14, Coe and another male allegedly chased a 16-year-old into the front garden of a Warilla home and stabbed him in the cheek, causing partial facial paralysis.The victim was also stabbed in the shoulder blade and suffered a cut to a finger as he tried to defend himself, police said.Police allege Coe had mistaken the 16-year-old for a member of Young Warilla Boys.Coe allegedly committed the violent offences just four weeks after he was released from juvenile detention in May, Wollongong Local Court heard during Coe's bail application on July 13.Yesterday, Coe pleaded not guilty to numerous charges in relation to the three incidents, including affray, wielding a knife in a public place and intentionally causing grievous bodily harm.He pleaded guilty to four charges in relation to a car accident about 4am on May 30, when the vehicle he was driving smashed into traffic lights on the corner of Keross Avenue and Shellharbour Rd, at Barrack Heights.Coe told police he had drunk half a case of beer before driving and lost control of the vehicle when he asked a passenger to steer as he checked his mobile phone, facts tendered to the court said.Coe has been refused bail and will reappear via audio-visual link on August 26.

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