A man has been found guilty of a one-punch attack that left his victim unconscious after a "bad blood" feud turned violent at Windang Bowling Club two years ago.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Antonia Jose Arjona pleaded not guilty to one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after he punched Kendall Flint on June 15, 2019.
Arjona claimed he acted in self defence with the incident captured on club security camera.
During a hearing in Wollongong Local Court on Monday, Mr Flint said he was at the club picking up Chinese takeaway with a friend.
Mr Flint, who was holding the bag of food and his car keys, said "come on" to his friend after he walked past him.
Arjona, who lives in Lake Illawarra, was standing at a table nearby with two friends talking and drinking.
Mr Flint said there had been "run ins" with Arjona on previous occasions including at licenced venues, and there was "bad blood" between the pair.
Mr Flint told the court Arjona then approached him and "what did you say to me", to which he replied, "nothing"
"Then I got hit," Mr Flint sad. "I blacked out".
Staff intervened and removed Arjona from the premises before he was later arrested.
Mr Flint said he had a swollen jaw that prevented him from eating for a couple of days and bruising to his back following the assault.
Mr Flint denied suggestions from Arjona's defence lawyer Graeme Morrison that he tried to headbutt Arjona.
"You can say whatever want," Mr Flint said. "Why would I headbutt him with my hands full?"
Arjona then took to the stand to claim he was acting in "self defence".
Arjona said he was talking with his friends when he claimed Mr Flint said something under his breath, but he did not hear the words.
Arjona told the court his friend said, "your mate wants you" and Arjona said "what" to Mr Flint, who then responded with "I didn't say anything".
Arjona claimed Mr Flint said "do you want to go outside" to which he responded, "you are embarrassing me in front of my friends".
Arjona claimed Mr Flint then lunged forward with his head, "in a poor attempt at a headbutt" to which he responded by punching Mr Flint in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
Under cross examination from police prosecutor Sergeant Ben Bragger, Arjona said Mr Flint was starting to "get aggressive" during the exchange.
"Why would you approach him then?" Sgt Bragger asked.
"He was embarrassing me," Arjona said.
"Why didn't you run away," Sgt Bragger asked.
"I didn't get the chance to run...I wasn't going to fight the guy...it was self defence...I never wanted any trouble."
Arjona conceded approaching Mr Flint was not a "reasonable option" and there were other actions he could have taken, such as alerting a staff member or stepping away after the attempted headbutt, to avoid a conflict.
However, Arjona went on to say his decision to punch Mr Flint was "reasonable".
Arjona's friends who were at the pub were also called to give evidence with Brett Sinclair saying he did not see Mr Flint attempt to headbutt Arjona.
However, his brother Craig Sinclair said he saw Mr Flint move his head towards Arjona from less than one metre away.
"I suggest there was no headbutt and you are adding that fact to help your friend," Sgt Bragger said.
"No, I seen what I seen," Mr Sinclair responded.
In closing submissions, Sgt Bragger suggested Mr Flint did not attempt to headbutt Arjona, as his legs and feet did not move, which was supported by the CCTV footage.
"[Arjona] walked towards him and a very serious punch was thrown," he said.
Mr Morrison claimed his client was acting in self defence and was not aggressive when he approached Mr Flint.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming said the footage was "quite clear" and found Mr Flint did make a "not very good attempt at a headbutt" but no contact was made.
She ruled Arjona's decision to punch Mr Flint in the head was not reasonable when trying to defend himself.
"In my view, it was clearly excessive...he swings a punch with enough force to send him to the floor," Magistrate Fleming said.
"I find the offence proven."
Magistrate Fleming noted Arjona had four incidents of violence on his record.
"You need to understand there is great community concern about violence in licenced premises," she said.
"If Kendall Flint didn't get up off the ground then you would be appearing from the screen in a green jumpsuit.
"Your criminal record for violence is bad."
Magistrate Fleming adjourned the matter until March 15 so a sentencing assessment report could be prepared and to give Arjona time to get a mental health treatment plan to address his anger management issues.
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Subscribe to our newsletters
