Slacks Creek man Harley D Hicks, 28, bashes cousin’s husband with two men in ugly ‘gang violence’

A family vacation was ruined after “really sickening gang violence” when a feud devolved into a three-on-one bashing on North Stradbroke Island.

A magistrate has given a man involved with “really sickening gang violence” community service instead of a suspended jail sentence after he bashed his cousin’s husband with two other men on North Stradbroke Island.

Reasoning it would be more onerous on Slacks Creek man Harley D Hicks, 28, to serve the community, Magistrate Deborah Vasta sentenced him to 120 hours of community service for his “malicious” attack.

Appearing at Cleveland Magistrates Court on March 18 Hicks pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed/in company.

The court heard Hicks was vacationing with friends and family on North Stradbroke Island on December 21 in 2019 when at around 7:30pm his cousin’s husband walked by a house the defendant was staying at.

A verbal exchange escalated to violence during which the victim was punched repeatedly until he fell to the ground where he was kicked.

A police prosecutor said Hicks punched the victim multiple times during the “three-on-one” attack during which the victim tried to punch back before falling to the ground.

Harley Hicks, to the right, leaves Cleveland Magistrates Court with solicitor Samit Seth. Picture: Marcel Baum

Described at court as a classic example of assault that often features in the media due to a victim being killed, Hicks’ group assault resulted in bruising to the victim and “discomfort to his jaw”.

The court heard a co-accused of Hicks on March 3 was sentenced to a four-month prison sentence, suspended over 12 months for the matter.

It comes after the defendant, the court was told, had previously been sentenced for a similar offence of violence committed in company in 2012.

Defence solicitor Samit Seth said his client had disengaged from the bashing when the victim hit the floor and stated Hicks did not kick the man.

Mr Seth told the court Hicks – who was on a disability support pension for serious injuries he suffered in a traffic crash – and his co-accused had told the man to leave the area after he uttered obscenities in the vicinity of nearby children and the event escalated due to underlying discontent between family members.

Magistrate Vasta said she could not understand how someone could join in a group assault of a victim who was clearly beaten and denounced Hicks’ “malicious” behaviour as “really sickening gang violence”.

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The magistrate further remarked that while Hicks was not fit to work due to his injuries it didn’t stop him partaking in “gang violence”.

Hicks was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay his victim $500 in compensation.

The defendant was also placed on a two-year non-contact order with the aggrieved.