Nicholas Sydney Pukallus, Joshua Mark Busby and Ashley John Pukallus front court following machete attack

An Ipswich dad has taken the blame for his son’s brutal machete attack after a violent ‘free for all’ broke out at a home.

An Ipswich dad has taken the blame for his son’s brutal machete attack after a violent ‘free for all’ broke out at a home. Picture: Supplied/FILE

Three men have fronted court for a violent “free for all” in which a son took up a machete to protect his father – leaving the victim with injuries he’s still struggling to recover from.

Brassall residents Nicholas Sydney Pukallus, 39, and Joshua Mark Busby, 30, pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court on December 12, 2022, to grievous bodily harm, common assault and wilful damage.

Nicholas Pukallus’s son Ashley John Pukallus, 23 of Leichhardt, pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm on the same day.

The court heard Nicholas and Busby had driven to a house in One Mile on November 20, 2021 – allegedly with two juvenile accomplices – armed with pieces of wood and bladed weapons.

Judge Dennis Lynch said Nicholas was the “ringleader” and had intended to confront the man residing there about a slight he’d supposedly made against his son Ashley.

Crown prosecutor Michelle Parfitt said Nicholas had demanded the other man apologise and “pushed him around”.

She said the other man became angry and initiated a physical fight after Nicholas “declared” they would go into his car.

“It’s accepted that the complainant did throw punches,” Ms Parfitt said.

“However, this was in the context of a number of people arriving at his home – and, as I say, they were armed.”

Judge Lynch said what followed was a “free for all”.

One of the juveniles allegedly joined the fight, while the other allegedly removed the man’s car keys from his car.

The car’s rear window was smashed, while Ashley attended the scene separately at an unknown point.

When asked why, Ashley told the court he had simply “lived around the corner”.

Ms Parfitt said the complainant “managed to disarm” one of his attackers, taking a machete from them and chasing Nicholas with it.

He ended up wrestling with Nicholas on the ground, and Ashley, seeing his father struggling, took up the machete and struck the other man with it.

He hit him in the hand, causing a deep laceration which caused fractures on three fingers and completely severed a number of tendons.

The complainant required surgery and had not yet gained full use of this hand at the time of sentencing.

Ms Parfitt said Nicholas was the only defendant who agreed to be interviewed by the police at the time.

She said he not only admitted to attending the complainant’s property, but had told police he had done it alone and attempted to take the blame for the complainant’s injury.

Defence barrister Dan Boddice noted it was “perhaps not surprising given his son was involved”.

He emphasised there was a level of “provocation” involved, as his client Nicholas had initially made to leave after the complainant apologised, but the other man had kicked things off by punching him.

Judge Lynch asked: “So the complainant should have just said ‘thanks very much, thanks for coming here armed, threatening me, but everyone’s good to go now?’.”

“All of this was of course entirely predictable – that you would go to confront someone in a group and armed with such weapons was inviting there to be a confrontation.”

Exterior picture of the Ipswich Court house Ipswich Friday 28th October 2022. Picture: David Clark

Defence barrister Geoffrey Seaholme noted his client Ashley was young, had no criminal history and had made good use of his time in custody on remand, learning to weld.

He also emphasised Ashley did not go there armed and picked up the machete when he arrived – but Judge Lynch commented he was “not sure that it matter[ed] greatly”.

Defence barrister Scott Neaves said his client Busby was the “least involved in terms of his criminality in the offending” and also noted Busby suffered injuries in the scuffle.

He said his client, who worked as a machine operator, was left with a “considerable” scar on his shoulder which gave him difficulties lifting heavy equipment.

Judge Lynch noted Busby had a relevant criminal history, with two previous convictions for assault occasioning bodily harm in the 2010s – one which was armed and in company.

Nicholas’s criminal history primarily consisted of drug and property offending, but included a dated 2002 conviction for common assault.

He was ultimately sentenced to four years imprisonment, to be suspended from March 19, 2023, for an operational period of four years.

His presentence custody of 387 days was declared as time-served.

Ashley was sentenced to three years imprisonment, to be immediately suspended for an operational period of three years.

His presentence custody of 385 days was declared as time-served.

Bugsby was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment, to be suspended immediately for an operational period of four years.

His presentence custody of 387 days was declared as time-served.

Convictions were recorded for each defendant.