Brock Anthony Woods convicted for violent incident outside Red Hot Summer Tour in Mount Gambier

A homeless man who claimed he was acting in self defence when left a Good Samaritan with a traumatic brain injury, has been convicted.

A homeless man with a “very lengthy history” has been found guilty after he bashed a Good Samaritan who says he believed he was confronting an attempted child abductor.

The Mount Gambier District Court jury returned a majority verdict finding Brock Anthony Woods, 45, not guilty of serious harm with intent, but convicted him of the lesser charge of recklessly causing serious harm on Tuesday morning.

Woods punched Mount Gambier man Kim Ruge unconscious before kicking and stomping on him after he and his wife left the Red Hot Summer Tour at Old Mount Gambier Gaol on January 5, 2020.

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Mr Ruge had sprung into action when a “terrified” teenage girl screamed for help claiming a man had attempted to “drag her into his car”, and went to investigate at white Holden white commodore with Victorian number plates.

Eye witnesses told the court Woods was intoxicated, drinking from a brown bottle and interacting with children in the Mount Gambier Railway Lands before they saw him suddenly get out of the car and punch a man to the face.

Prosecutor Robert Walker told the jury there was no doubt Woods had punched his victim, leaving him with a shattered nose and eye socket and a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury requiring emergency surgery in Adelaide.

“Not one of those witnesses suggested Mr Ruge had done anything aggressive or threatening towards anyone or the accused gave any warning before punching Mr Ruge,” Mr Walker said.

“Not only did he punch Mr Ruge very forcibly in the face, forcibly enough to knock him out ... he proceeded to repeatedly kick him and if you accept the evidence … stomp on him.”

The homeless, Indigenous man who was using his car as shelter claimed he acted in self defence.

Defence lawyer Matthew Christey told the court Woods made full admission to punching Mr Ruge during a police interview, saying the “split-second decision” would continue to affect the lives of both men.

Mr Christey said he was vulnerable hearing the words “Is this the c*** that did it?” before he “defended himself with a single punch” to prevent himself being assaulted.

“(Woods) had to get out of that car, turn around and do all of these things in a matter of seconds because this man is coming straight for him,’’ Mr Christey said.

“The truth of that matter is (Mr Ruge) was going over there and he wasn’t going to let him get away.

“Mr Woods stuck up for himself, he defended himself.”

Mr Walker had rejected Woods’ self defence claim saying he had other options but chose to walk toward his victim.

“The fact that he punched this man, knocking him to the ground and then repeatedly kicked him as he laid on the ground shows the accused’s action had nothing to do with a genuine belief that he needed to defend himself,” he said.

During the four day trial, Mr Ruge recounted the moment he went to the aid of a teenage girl he believed Woods had attempted to abduct and how it had changed his life.

The Borg mechanical department team leader said he wanted to ensure the accused did not escape before police arrived.

“A young girl came running up to me screaming in hysterics,” Mr Ruge said.

“She said, ‘help, help, somebody’s tried grabbing me into their car’.”

Mr Ruge said he could not see anyone in the car and was caught by surprise when the door opened, giving him no opportunity to say or do anything before a punch to the face knocked him to the ground unconscious.

“It was game over,” he said.

“It didn’t feel like a fist … it felt like I got hit in the head with a steel bar and that’s the last thing I remember.

“I remember getting kicked; I was on the ground. That’s what woke me up.

“He felt like he had steel caps on.”

Unable to move, Mr Ruge told the accused “You’re in trouble when I get up”, with Woods allegedly running at him, kicking him to the head a second time.

Eighteen months on, the father of five, who is expected to give a victim impact statement later in the Mount Gambier District Court circuit continues to experience “serious” impairment including degenerated vision and poor short-term memory.

Woods has been in custody since his arrest on January 9 where Judge Geraldine Davison said he had served a seven month sentence for an unrelated serious criminal trespass conviction while awaiting trial.