A teenager who bashed two women and a man in an early morning Wollongong CBD brawl has blamed his violence on the "adrenaline pumping through my body".
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Zayne Taki, 19, faced a Wollongong Local Court hearing on Monday, after pleading not guilty to six charges, including affray, stemming from the March 12, 2023 fracas which was captured on CCTV.
The Central Coast teen admitted to his conduct, however, claimed he acted in self-defence when he assaulted the two women and man, with all four parties taking to the witness stand to divulge their version of the events.
CCTV footage was played, showing Taki and the man in a "scuffle" on Atchison Street about 1.30am after they left the Heyday nightclub, which escalated into a brawl as others ran to join the fight.
Taki and others were seen kicking and punching the man while he lay on the ground, before Taki dragged him by the shirt.
Two women, who did not know anyone in the fight, walked towards the group from a nearby kebab shop and tried to intervene as they saw the man "getting his head kicked in".
One woman said Taki then "kicked" her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.
Taki punched the other woman six to seven times and kicked her once in the abdomen.
One of the women sustained a broken nose, cuts below her right eye, and a cut on the inside of her lip, while the other sustained a cut to her head and a broken tooth.
"I struggled to breathe due to there being so much blood in my nose and mouth," one of the women said of the incident.
The women and man were taken to hospital where they were treated for their injuries.
In Taki's version of events, he told the court he was standing on the corner of Atchison Street when a man wrapped his hand around his head and hit him from behind.
Taki said he brought both hands to his own face to defend himself, before the pair broke into a scuffle.
Taki said the man tried to run off so he pulled him to the ground and "hit him a couple times", explaining that he feared if the man fled, he would return with a knife or a bat.
Asked what sparked this belief about the man leaving to retrieve a weapon, Taki responded: "In the heat of the moment I feared for my life, in this strange city I've never been too, I don't know what the people are like."
"I was being threatened to get king hit," he said.
Taki said one of the women who intervened had taken hold of his necklace, prompting him to punch her and push her.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Manning asked Taki whether he thought punching the woman in the face and pulling her towards him was an appropriate response to this, as well as later punching the other woman six to seven times in the head.
"The amount of adrenaline pumping through my body, yes, I thought it was means necessary to defend myself," Taki said.
"Would you agree there were plenty of opportunities to walk away?" Sgt Manning asked.
"I couldn't, she had my necklace, which snapped and she came down," Taki said.
Taki said he had three beers in 12 hours and was "completely sober" during the incident.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of affray, common assault, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company, and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The hearing was adjourned to February 12, where lawyers will make their closing submissions.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
