Ricky Lefoe pleads not guilty to manslaughter of Brazilian man Ivan Susin in Surfers Paradise
A “haymaker” punch that killed Brazilian man Ivan Susin outside a Surfers Paradise kebab shop was triggered by a dispute over stolen hot chips, a court has heard. WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A dispute over stolen hot chips outside a Gold Coast kebab shop allegedly sparked a fatal brawl in which a Brazilian man was killed after being felled by a “haymaker”, a court has heard.
Ricky Lefoe, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Brazilian man Ivan Susin who died in hospital 11 days after Lefoe punched him outside a Surfers Paradise kebab shop in 2019 in a violent melee captured on CCTV.
Mr Susin and his three friends had been playing snooker, drinking beer and watching sports on September 30, 2019 when they decided to get some food in the early hours of October 1 at about 1am.
In her opening address to the jury in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday, Crown Prosecutor Liz Kelso said Mr Susin was ordering dinner at the kebab shop while his friends Johnathan Lodge and Kai Thake ate on a nearby bench alongside the footpath.
Another friend Jordan Naylor had gone up the street to buy cigarettes.
“Johnny and Kai Thake stayed seated on that bench eating their food blissfully unaware that their night was about to be interrupted,” Ms Kelso said.
The court heard the defendant Lefoe and his friend Shaun Simpson, who were “absolute strangers” to Mr Susin and his friends, were also out that night when they came across the men eating their dinner.
“The two groups would come to know each other as the defendant and Mr Shaun Simpson walked past Johnny Lodge and Kai Thake as they sat on that bench and Shaun Simpson took it upon himself to reach down and take some of the food out of their laps as he walked past,” Ms Kelso said.
Mr Susin’s friends stayed seated and told Simpson to “go away and leave them alone”, calling him out for stealing their food.
Ms Kelso, who played CCTV footage of the incident to the court, said Simpson kept engaging with the pair as they walked while Lefoe “stood beside him nodding”.
She said it appeared the two would leave but Simpson then walked back to the seated men where he crouched over them with his face close to them.
“While this was occurring Ivan Susin stood at that kebab counter, paying for his food, ordering his food, talking to the two men who worked there, Mr (Medhi Hadi) Hajimiran and Mr (Yousef Majed Salameh Abu) Meizer completely unaware of the trouble brewing behind him,” Ms Kelso said.
The court heard seconds later, Shaun Simpson punched the seated Mr Lodge twice to the head.
“Shaun Simpson didn’t wait for Johnny Lodge to act or do anything, he started throwing more punches at him and Johnny ended up standing up and trying to grapple with Shaun Simpson,” she said.
The pair ended up on the ground with Simpson on top of Mr Lodge.
Ms Kelso said Mr Thake reached down to help his friend Mr Lodge but was stopped by the defendant Lefoe who pushed him in the chest.
“Now Ivan Susin who has been standing at the kebab counter throughout all of this walked over when he saw his friend Mr Lodge lying on the ground with this man on top of him,” she said.
“Ivan Susin slowly walked over there towards his friend, it’s while this is happening that Shaun Simpson threw a punch straight into the face of Mr Lodge on the ground, he geared up to throw another one raising both his arm and his back as Mr Susin joined the group.”
Ms Kelso said Mr Susin then threw a punch towards the back of Shaun Simpson which both the CCTV footage and witness accounts showed “missed by a country mile”.
“Mr Susin though having missed that punch stumbled a little and ended up facing back towards the way he came, he’s kind of crouched over … having missed that punch it’s within a second this defendant grabs him by the left shoulder and throws a haymaker punch at his face, it hits Mr Susin and floors him,” she said.
The court heard Mr Susin fell backwards onto the cement and never got up again, with witnesses describing him as “limp” and “lifeless” and “knocked out” before he hit the ground.
Despite Mr Susin being on the ground, Ms Kelso said Simpson continued to attack Mr Lodge who was dragged to his feet, with the defendant Lefoe allegedly taking a swing at the back of his head before others broke up the fight.
“Walking away from the area Mr Shaun Simpson punched the kebab shop owner Mr Hajimiran who had tried to help, he was trying to talk to the pair and get them to stay there, and he’ll tell you that the defendant (Lefoe) told him it was none of his business and not to get involved,” Ms Kelso said.
Mr Lodge gave evidence via videolink from England that he tried to diffuse the situation after Simpson stole the food.
“We weren’t out looking for any trouble,” Mr Lodge said.
“I remember him (Simpson) saying things and trying to provoke us but I can’t remember what he said.”
Mr Lodge said Simpson and Lefoe walked off and he thought the matter was over when Simpson suddenly returned, standing over he and his friend as they sat on the bench.
“Within seconds he stood there and I think that was when he grabbed hold of me,” he said.
“It all happened so fast.”
Mr Lodge said Simpson punched him and then dragged him off the bench.
“He was on top of me within milliseconds, he just started laying punches into me to be honest,” he said.
“I just tried to defend myself in the same way that most people would I guess.”
Ms Kelso asked Mr Lodge if he had wanted to fight Simpson.
“No absolutely not,” he said.
British man Jordan Naylor gave evidence he first met Mr Susin and Ky Thake when they travelled the Great Ocean Road together.
He said Mr Susin had recently been in Brazil so the friendship group made plans to catch up when he returned.
On the day of the incident, they drank lager, played snooker and watched sports at a number of venues before going to the kebab shop to eat when the altercation occurred.
Mr Naylor said he had walked to a nearby convenience store to buy cigarettes when the incident unfolded and he returned to find the violent melee.
He said he saw his friend Mr Susin punched to the left cheek and fall to the ground.
“He just fell to the floor and hit his head on the floor,” Mr Naylor said.
Kebab shop employee Yousef Majed Salameh Abu Meizer gave evidence he was working a shift from 5pm until after midnight when he saw the fight unfold involving Simpson and Mr Lodge.
He said he was serving Mr Susin who then walked over to the fight where his friend was on the ground being punched.
“He went to the fight and got punched and went to the floor,” Mr Meizer said.
Mr Susin died days later in hospital on October 11.
The trial before Chief Justice Helen Bowskill continues.
‘Excessive force’: Police officer stood down over alleged assault on 20yo
A South East Queensland police officer has been stood down after being charged with assault occasioning bodily harm while on duty.
‘I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you too’: Court hears of Lovell accused’s alleged cry, crucial CCTV evidence
One of the juveniles charged with Emma Lovell’s murder allegedly yelled “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you too” during the fatal Boxing Day scuffle at the family’s home north of Brisbane, a court has heard.