US Marine injured outside Monsoons on road to recovery, MRF-D spokesman confirms

A Monsoons security guard who allegedly bashed a US Marine unconscious outside the nightclub will contest the charge on the basis he has a legal defence, a court has heard.

• US Marine allegedly assaulted at Monsoons now in RDH following surgery

UPDATE 4PM: A spokesman for Marine Rotational Force — Darwin has confirmed the US Marine injured outside Monsoons earlier this month is no longer in an induced coma.

The spokesman said the 31-year-old was now “conscious, responsive and recovering” in Royal Darwin Hospital.

EARLIER: A MONSOONS security guard who allegedly bashed a US Marine unconscious outside the nightclub on April 11 will contest the charge on the basis he has a legal defence, a court has heard.

Hayden Robert Bruce Summers, 33, faced the Darwin Local Court on Tuesday charged with unlawfully causing serious harm to the other man — who the court heard was in an induced coma in Royal Darwin Hospital.

Summers’ lawyer, Luke Officer, applied for a variation of his client’s bail to allow him to associate with his colleagues so he could continue to work as the managing director of a security firm.

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Mr Officer said while Summers would be contesting the case, the whole incident was captured on CCTV.

“Those people are in fact employees or clients of my client’s security firm, he was a security guard on duty at Monsoons at the time that this incident occurred, the victim was a patron at Monsoons,” he said.

Monsoons bouncer Hayden Robert Bruce Summers outside the Darwin Local Court.

“The first name that appears in condition two, he is the owner of the company, he was present, he did see it, although he’s off camera when it occurs.”

Mr Officer said the company had an upcoming event “requiring 180 patrons to be looked after” and the non-association conditions made it impossible for Summers to do his job.

But he said despite the clear footage, it was not conceded there was a strong case against his client and the charge would be contested on the basis there was a legal defence available.

“Not only is the incident captured on footage, it’s the time from which (the marine) is first approached by security and ejected to this incident and everything that follows and it’s perfect footage,” he said.

Prosecutor James Bainbridge said the other man remained in an induced coma in hospital and police were still taking statements from the other bouncers who saw the incident.

“The CCTV does capture the incident itself, however, it doesn’t have sound,” he said.

“If the defendant is allowed to associate with these witnesses there’s a very real possibility of contamination and collusion in relation to what was said before and after the incident between the (security) officers and the patron.”

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Judge Therese Austin said it was too early in the police investigation to relax the non-association conditions but indicated another application could be made once officers had taken the necessary statements.

Summers returns to court on May 19.

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Originally published as US Marine injured outside Monsoons on road to recovery, MRF-D spokesman confirms