CCTV footage has captured the moment a drunk Horsley pub-goer stripped down to his socks and jocks and attacked a man outside the Grand Hotel in retaliation for an earlier one-kick assault on his mate.
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Austin Sullivan, 27, was standing in line waiting to enter the hotel on the night of May 24 last year when he saw his friend, Ethan Stewart-Hoare, get into a fight with a group of men nearby.
Stewart-Hoare fell over during the initial pushing and shoving, before getting back up and motioning to the main aggressor, Brent Durney, to come at him again.
Durney can be seen to move towards Stewart-Hoare, take a side-step then kick him in the head with his right leg, knocking him out cold.
Meantime, the footage shows Sullivan leaving the lineup to join the fray, taking off his jumper and shaping up to Thomas Jurkiewicz, another member of Durney’s group.
The warring parties are momentarily separated by hotel security guards. Jurkiewicz tells Durney to go, prompting him to flee.
Meantime, Jurkiewicz and his brother Edward then head along Burelli Street towards MacCabe Park, followed by a now shirtless Sullivan, who shouts at them “you killed my mate, he’s dead there you f—king dogs”.
The footage then shows Sullivan remove his shorts and shoes in the middle of Burelli Street and stride in the brothers’ direction.
A friend of Sullivan’s follows close behind, and the four men have a heated discussion inside MacCabe Park for several minutes.
The argument appears to dissipate and the men return to the footpath, however moments later the confrontation resumes, prompting Sullivan’s friend to grab Thomas Jurkiewicz in a headlock in an attempt to separate them.
Sullivan takes advantage of Jurkiewicz’s momentary incapacitation and punches him several times in the face, fracturing his jaw.
All four men then jog back to the front of the hotel where Stewart-Hoare is still lying unconscious on the ground.
Emergency services arrive a short time later and transport Stewart-Hoare to hospital. His injuries were not serious and he has since made a full recovery.
Court documents said Jurkiewicz was also taken to hospital for treatment for a fractured jaw bone and later underwent surgery.
Sullivan was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to which he pleaded guilty in Wollongong Local Court last Friday. He was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, with a 9-month non-parole period.
Meantime, Durney was also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm over the assault on Stewart Hoare. He pleaded guilty in June and received a 12-month suspended prison sentence.