Zayne Taki: Central Coast man found guilty of Wollongong CBD assaults

A teenage thug has been found guilty of cowardly attacks on an unknown man and two women during a wild street brawl in the Wollongong CBD. Read about the magistrate’s decision.

Woongarrah man Zayne Taki leaving Wollongong Local Court with his mother. Picture: Dylan Arvela

A teenage thug has been found guilty of cowardly attacks on an unknown man and two women during a wild street brawl in the Wollongong CBD.

Zayne Taki, 19, pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray.

The Woongarrah man pleaded guilty to common assault prior to a hearing at Wollongong Local Court last month, however, he claimed he had been provoked by the man.

Magistrate Les Mabbutt handed down his decision on Monday, finding the teenager guilty of all counts except for the two in company charges, stating the prosecution was not able to establish who else was involved in the brawl.

The court viewed confronting CCTV footage of the incident which occurred about 1am on March 12, 2023, near the intersection of Crown and Atchison streets in Wollongong.

The footage showed Taki and another man assaulting the male victim on the ground, with the offender delivering at least six blows to his body before two women – who did not know the offender or the victim – tried to intervene.

One of the women ran over with her hands up gesturing “Stop”, however, the out-of-control Taki turned his attention to them.

Zayne Taki behaviour was described as “cowardly” by the magistrate. Picture: Dylan Arvela

Both women were beaten to the ground by Taki with one sustaining a fractured nose, cuts to her face and lip and a black eye, while the other was punched six times before being knocked out.

The woman who was knocked out told the court during the hearing she was left “unresponsive”, but recalled Taki calling her a “filthy lesbian w****”.

Taki gave evidence he was acting in self defence, telling the court he thought the male was going to obtain “a knife or a bat or something” while claiming the women were “waving a hand at my face trying to smack me” and “raising arms rushing me for no reason”.

“Heat of the moment,” Taki said.

“Fear kicked into my body … tunnel vision kicked in.”

The offender also told the court he was not hurt in the fracas and that one of the victims “couldn’t fight very well” – an assessment Mr Mabbutt later labelled “derogatory”.

Taki told the court he did not know where his friends were despite him being able to identify four or five of them in the footage.

Mr Mabbutt found Taki was an untruthful and “flawed” witness, adding the “footage speaks for itself”.

The brawl occurred near the intersection of Crown and Atchison streets in Wollongong. Picture: Google Maps

“It was either pitch black, he was more affected than he has made out, he has a terrible memory or he is minimising his behaviour,” the magistrate said while highlighting holes in Taki’s version of events.

“This is not a situation where the accused was walking down the street minding his own business,” Mr Mabbutt said.

“He was attacking someone on the ground when the [women] intervened – [they] did what few people would do these days and tried to help.

“He was minimising his behaviour. His comments in the witness box do not help him. He said he was totally confused and scared in the dark – everyone else could see what was happening. He was worried all these people were going to assault him – half of them were his friends.”

“Brutal, cowardly and violent behaviour is the only way I can describe his conduct.”

The magistrate offered praise to the two women stating they “should be commended for their behaviour despite the injuries they received”.

Taki will be sentenced in April.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]