New claims as boys face court after arrest at Arndale Shopping Centre

New allegations about how and why a frightening incident broke out at the shopping centre have been made as a group of boys faced court.

The adult alleged victim of the Arndale Shopping Centre affray harassed one of the charged boys, 14, “on an ongoing basis” before going to his house and striking him with a metal baseball bat, a court has heard.

On Wednesday, the Youth Court was asked to grant bail to the boys, who SA Police have accused of throwing a rock at the adult man to spark the alleged incident.

Counsel for the boy said the circumstances leading up to the alleged incident were far more complex and warranted her client’s immediate release under supervision.

“For several months my client has received abusive texts and abusive phone calls from the alleged complainant,” she said

“The alleged complainant also attended his home and hit him with a metal baseball bat (prior to the alleged affray).

“I have seen and heard these abusive messages... the complainant has been threatening (the boy) on an ongoing basis.

“That complainant is an adult male... my client has been quite fearful.”

She said the boy and his mother had made a report to police prior to his attendance at the shops, where he and his friends “were minding their own business”.

“On police’s own version of events, and on the CCTV footage, the alleged victim is observed approaching the boys and engaging a verbal confrontation,” she said.

“He has followed this group of young people when they have tried to remove themselves from the situation.”

She said her client was “quite distressed” about being held in youth detention and wanted to be released on bail - an application opposed by a police prosecutor.

She said the boy was already on bail over allegations of aggravated serious criminal trespass, aggrated theft and illegal use of a motor vehicle.

That bail, she said, had only been downgraded from home detention just prior to the alleged affray.

“(This boy) appears to be the principal instigator and is alleged to be the person who threw the rock that hit the complainant on the chin,” she said.

“The fact he has engaged in further offending (after his bail was downgraded) is of great concern.”

The court ordered a home detention bail assessment report and remanded the boy in custody until next month.

One of the teens allegedly involved in a violent assault at a northwestern suburbs shopping centre had only just received a suspended sentence, and been released from custody less than a month ago, for threatening a bus driver with a knife, court has also heard.

However, counsel for one of the boys has claimed their client and his alleged co-accused were being pursued by the supposed victim of the attack – and that they sought refuge in a shop as “a cry for help”.

The boy, 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Adelaide Youth Court on Wednesday morning charged with aggravated affray, aggravated committing an assault with a weapon, carrying an offensive weapon and possessing cannabis.

Two others, another 14-year-old and a 16-year-old also appeared.

The prosecutor told the court the 14-year-old had only recently released from custody, and had a lengthy history of violent offending already.

“This is of course extremely violent offending that he has been charged with,” the prosecutor said.

“He was released from custody in May on a suspended sentence for an aggravated assault with a weapon, where he attacked a bus driver with a knife. That sentence was two weeks in detention which was suspended on an obligation of six months. This offending would breach that.

Six teenagers have been arrested following an incident outside the Arndale Shopping Centre. Picture: NINENEWS

Six teenagers have been arrested following an incident outside the Arndale Shopping Centre. Picture: NINENEWS

“There was a video captured by a witness to the offending. That video does show (the boy) clearly in that footage swinging a large knife the direction of the victim.

“It is also captured on CCTV and which shows the victim in this matter in a verbal confrontation with the six accused. It shows a co-accused collecting a rock and throwing it in the direction of the victim, which hits him in the face.”

She said another co-accused appears to also brandish a knife toward the victim during the incident.

“I make the submission that there is a great concern to the protection of the community that he is alleged to be engaging in such violent offending with a knife while subject to suspended sentence for similar offending.

“He has also been dealt with in the past for a number of breaches of bail, six aggravated serious criminal trespasses and a number of thefts.”

Six boys, ranging in age from 13 to 16, were arrested on Tuesday following the alleged attack.

A 14-year-old from Athol Park, a 16-year-old from Pennington and a 13-year-old boy from Mansfield Park were each charged with one count of affray.

Their three co-accused were charged with that offence, as well as facing additional accusations.

A 14-year-old from Munno Para, and a 14-year-old from Munno Para West, were also charged with carrying an offensive weapon and aggravated assault.

A 14-year-old from Mansfield Park was also charged with aggravated assault.

The disturbance came just days after the unrelated lockdown and evacuation of Westfield Marion, prompted by the alleged actions of several youths.

Following their arrest, the 13-year-old from Mansfield Park and the 14-year-old from Athol Park were granted bail to face court again in August.

The charges arise from an incident at the Arndale Shopping Centre, Kilkenny, during which the boys allegedly threatened a man, brandished knives and threw a rock.

In court on Wednesday, the lawyer for one of the 14-year-olds said her client’s version of events included the alleged victim pursuing the group of teens, before they entered a shop and asked the attendant for help.

“On my instruction, the allegations are contested,” the boy’s lawyer said.

“It’s backed up by the CCTV that the complainant was pursuing the young people initially, he continued to do so and my client and his group tried to get out of the situation. They walked away from the shopping centre to steer clear of the complainant and it got to a point that (the boy) and the others felt threatened by the complainant, who is a full grown adult, that they felt the need to defend themselves.”

She said the group made their way into a nearby store and “told the shop owner that someone was pursuing them, essentially a cry for help”.

“They were swiftly asked to leave that premises. There is scope for the charges to be downgraded or whether or not they can be proved in the first instance.”

Another lawyer for a co-accused 14-year-old said the victim had “assaulted” one of the boys in the group the day before the alleged attack.

“It’s my instructions the victim sought out the boys in this matter, and had assaulted one of them the day prior.”

Magistrate Alison Adair ordered a home detention report for the first 14-year-old and will make a decision on bail next week, but granted the second 14-year-old supervised bail with conditions not to contact the victim, or any co-accuseds.

The 16-year-old was also granted supervised bail to his Department of Child Protection residence, where he has lived for the past six years.

The court heard that boy has no prior criminal history and is not alleged to have been holding or using a weapon during the incident.

One other boy is expected to appear in court later on Wednesday.