Police have charged two men over a bloody stabbing attack outside Dapto Leagues Club last week.
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Koonawarra 22-year-old Chaise Whittall and Tyson Williams, 21, face charges of common assault and wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after they were arrested in connection with the February 17 brawl. According to police, the victim and his partner departed the club after playing the poker machines at 8.07pm, having earlier crossed paths with Williams at the club's entrance.
As the couple went to leave, Whittall, standing in a group, allegedly began antagonising the victim, telling him, "I've got something for you" and "come on, let's go".
Whittall and the group followed the couple outside and into the car park, with Whittall allegedly holding a small kitchen knife and motioning it towards the victim.
Whittall allegedly punched the man to his ear/temple once the couple reached the eastern side of the carpark, with the group continuing to shadow the pair as they tried to walk away.
Williams then caught up to the group, also armed with a knife. He and Whittall allegedly "took several lunges towards the victim in an attempt to stab him".
The man was stabbed in his upper left arm as he raised it to protect himself.
The wound bled profusely through his clothing and later needed three stitches.
Williams and Whittall allegedly fled, making off in a blue hatchback.
Meantime, the victim sought help at a local pharmacy. Due to the amount of bleeding he was told to go to a nearby medical centre.
While walking there, a blue hatchback stopped at a nearby intersection and Williams got out, allegedly challenging the bleeding man to a fight, before returning to the car, which then drove off.
The injured man received first aid at the medical centre and was later taken to Wollongong Hospital in an ambulance, due to the amount of bleeding.
Police searched the area later that night and found a small kitchen knife in a car park off the Princes Highway, next to a drain.
Whittall was arrested at a Shearwater Drive, Berkeley address on Tuesday morning and told police, "I wasn't the one who stabbed him".
But police are alleging Whittall and Williams were jointly attacking the man, and that it was only by chance that it was Williams' blade that connected.
"Whilst Mr Whittall might not have been the person to actually stab the victim ... he's approached the victim in the first instance," Sergeant Tanya Pavric told Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
"Both persons were lunging towards the victim at the same time in an attempt ot stab him; it just so happened that the co-accused got to him first."
Defence solicitor Matthew Ward called on the court to release Whittall under strict bail conditions - "effectively house arrest" - citing his poor prior mental health.
Magistrate Susan McGowan noted the case against Whittall appeared strong, supported by witness statements and CCTV footage showing him following the victim.
"You can't go around stabbing people, hoping for the best," she said.
"How is going out with knives complying with any [earlier] bail conditions?"
The court heard the wounding charge carries a maximum potential jail term of 25 years.
Bail was refused. Whittall's matter return to court April 28. Williams, who has been granted bail, is to appear at Port Kembla Local Court April 15.
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