Clyde Russell Brown hit James Keay with a wooden club in ‘vigilante revenge style attack’

A fishing charterer has beaten a boat builder in a “vigilante, revenge attack”. Find out what started it

A fishing charter operator struck a boat builder 12 times with a wooden club in a case of “vigilante revenge” after losing hundreds of thousands, a court has been told.

Clyde Russell Brown claims he did not set out to attack boat builder James Keay but wanted to confront him after losing money on a boat he had contracted Mr Keay to build.

Mr Keay’s business went into administration before the contract was completed, but the court was told Brown discovered the builder had set up another operation.

Brown, 63, pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed.

Prosecutor Donn Reid told the court Brown went to a Southport business about 11.45am on May 5 this year with a wooden club in his pants.

He said when Brown saw Mr Keay, Brown told him: “Found you. Why did you rip us off?”

It was then Brown got out the wooden club and struck Mr Keay 12 times with it.

Mr Reid said Mr Keay, 61, threw three or four punches at Brown.

He told the court the pair had a history.

Mr Reid said Brown had contracted Mr Keay to build a boat for him.

The court was told Mr Keay’s business, Cruisecat, went into administration in 2019.

Brown had paid between $300,000 and $450,000 for the boat to be built and after the company went bust had to fork out $30,000 in legal fees and another $180,000 to get the boat finished.

“A vigilante, revenge-style attack like this does need some deterrence from the court,” Mr Reid said.

Defence lawyer James Treanor, of Hannay Lawyers, said Brown, who runs fishing charters, had commissioned Mr Keay to build the boat in 2016.

When it was not built by its due date in 2017, Brown kept being asked for more money.

“On one occasion he attended the boat yard to inspect the boat and one of the employees was instructed to threaten him to get him off the property,” Mr Treanor said.

Mr Treanor said Brown was having issues with a fuel leak on the boat when he heard Mr Keay had started a new business.

“He was cranky, frustrated and decided to confront the complainant,” he said. Mr Treanor said Brown had gone to confront Mr Keay but only took the bat protection after previously being threatened.

He said Brown did not know the name of the new business.

Magistrate Jane Bentley placed Brown on a $1000 good behaviour bond for 12 months for the “vigilante-type assault”. No conviction was recorded.

“No one can take the law into their own hands,” she said.

Magistrate Bentley said she took into account that Brown was remorseful and ashamed. “I do take into account the financial situation you are in and the reasons for that,” she said.

“You paid a lot of money to this boat builder, you didn’t get the boat and you found he had started another company and was building boats again.”

She said she accepted Brown had realised his behaviour was unacceptable.

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Originally published as Clyde Russell Brown hit James Keay with a wooden club in ‘vigilante revenge style attack’