A Queenstown man has described how he was attacked by two men outside his home after they turned on a concrete compacting machine in the middle of the night.
The man was giving evidence yesterday at the jury trial in the Invercargill District Court of Liam Osborne, 31, and Luke Holden, 27, on charges of injuring with intent to injure.
The complainant said he was asleep at his Brunswick St home on December 22, 2022, when he was awoken by a "huge" noise about 12.30am.
When he went outside to turn off the machine, Holden had disappeared, but Osborne was still at the scene.
When he asked him how to turn off the machine, Osborne told him to "f... off" and walked away.
He had managed to turn down its throttle, reducing its noise, when Holden reappeared and pushed the throttle back up.
The complainant said he then "regrettably" tripped Holden over with his foot in frustration as the defendant walked away.
"That’s when he came at me."
As he backed away, saying he did not want a fight, Osborne came back and told his friend to "grab him and hold him down".
They wrestled him to the pavement, and as Holden lay on top and pinned one of his arms behind his back, Osborne punched and kicked his head 10 to 15 times before they ran off.
He went inside "bleeding profusely" from his head and called 111.
Police and an ambulance arrived and he was treated at the scene for a head laceration and grazes on his head, arms and back.
The complainant told Crown prosecutor Sarah McKenzie he had spent the evening at home looking after his 4-year-old son while his wife was at work.
He denied a suggestion by Holden’s counsel, Bryony Shackell, that he was angry and instigated a fight by "forcibly shoving" Holden away from the machine.
He had not told police about foot-tripping Holden because he was in shock at the time, and did not think it was important.
Osborne’s counsel, Paige Noorland, suggested the complainant had overpowered Holden and was "laying into him" when her client returned to the scene.
Osborne pulled the complainant off his friend and punched him twice "because you were assaulting Mr Holden".
A taxi driver who drove the men home from the CBD gave evidence that Holden had blood on his hands and knees, and the pair told him they had been in a fight.
A video of Osborne’s interview with police three months after the alleged assault was shown in court.
In it, he said he and Holden worked for the same construction firm, and were walking back to the CBD after a party when they started up the compactor "for a bit of a laugh".
He had continued walking down Brunswick St when he heard yelling behind him, and went back to find the complainant on top of his friend, "laying into him".
"I tried to defuse it.
"I physically pulled him off Luke, and he hit me."
He then punched the complainant twice in the face.
Holden’s written statement to police, which was read to the court, said he and Osborne had been drinking since 12.30pm the day before to celebrate the end of the working year.
They had turned on the compactor because they "thought it would be a fun thing".
The defendants did not give oral evidence at the trial, which resumes today.
