CCTV footage reveals moment Joshua Elliott, Joshua Cowan and Timothy Elder bash man in Nowra drug debt kidnapping plot

This is the “sickening” moment a man was chased down with an angle grinder, stomped and bashed senseless before his mouth was placed over a kerb – all in a twisted drug debt kidnapping plot. Warning: graphic.

This is the “sickening” moment a man was chased down with an angle grinder, dragged, stomped and bashed senseless before his mouth was placed over a kerb - all in a twisted drug debt kidnapping plot.

Exclusive CCTV footage obtained by NewsLocal shows the barbaric moment Joshua Cowan, 41, Joshua Elliott, 40, and Timothy Elder, 33, launched a horrendous and sustained assault on the man in Nowra, who they claimed owed them and associates drug money.

The disturbing vision has emerged just days before the trio are due to be sentenced in Downing Centre District Court.

Cowan, Elliott and Elder each previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping with intent to cause harm, following the October 29, 2022 attack at the St Anns St, Nowra, address.

Court documents reveal the trio lured the victim to the home under the false pretence of a drug deal.

The victim was stomped, punched and dragged along the ground. Picture: Supplied

Instead, he was ambushed and assaulted in a sickening revenge attack.

The footage – obtained by NewsLocal – shows the victim struggling to escape as he is pinned to the ground multiple times and repeatedly struck in the head.

Joshua Cowan was one of the three men arrested and charged for the brutal kidnap plot. Picture: Facebook

At one point, one of the men is seen yanking the victim off his feet by his hair, before slamming him back down and ripping out a clump in the process.

In another chilling moment, Cowan can be seen brandishing an angle grinder, while Elder stands on the victim’s neck.

The trio then drag the man across the yard and force him to place his mouth over the roadside gutter, before a car was brought around to take the man “out bush”, according to police facts.

However, as the men went to place the victim into the boot of a car, nearby residents began yelling, prompting the assailants to abandon their plan and flee the scene.

Judge Fitzsimmons labelled the footage “absolutely sickening”. Picture: Supplied

The victim was later hospitalised with severe bruising across his body.

Court documents state police later arrested and charged Cowan, Elliott and Elder following weeks of investigations.

They have remained in custody since.

The trio appeared in Nowra District Court earlier this month for their sentence hearing before Judge William Fitzsimmons, where their defence barristers argued various mitigating factors, including remorse and psychological reports completed in custody.

They also submitted the men had already served a significant period on remand of more than 200 days since their arrest.

However, Judge Fitzsimmons condemned the attack, labelling the footage “absolutely sickening”.

Cowan, Elliott, and Elder will learn their fate when Judge Fitzsimmons hands down sentence on Friday.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]