Geelong man Joel Murdoch faces court after St James nightclub incident

A Geelong man who was allegedly beaten unconscious by a St James nightclub security guard has faced court for his part in the violent incident.

One of the Geelong men caught up in a bloody St James nightclub brawl has avoided conviction.

Joel Murdoch faced the Geelong Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to assault charges stemming from an incident at the popular James St venue with another man, his dad and a security guard.

Joel Murdoch has faced the Geelong Magistrates' Court for his part in the James St Nightclub assault. Picture: Facebook.

After being booted from the club by a security guard for being drunk, the court heard Murdoch had taken a street sign and thrown it at one guard’s head. The sign came close to the guard’s face but did not connect.

Murdoch tried to escape but a member of the public shirt-fronted him and held him until the security guard caught up.

The court was told the security guard allegedly punched Murdoch and continued to assault him even after he had been knocked unconscious. Murdoch was then left in a pool of blood.

CCTV caught Murdoch coming to around 25 seconds later. He moved to the footpath to call his dad to pick him up.

While waiting, Murdoch walked back to the club and spat at the guard. By the time his dad arrived at the nightclub, Murdoch and the security guard were in a verbal argument.

As his dad attempted to intervene and push Murdoch into the car, clubgoer Lachlan McCol joined the argument.

The court heard in May that McCol had become physically aggressive with Murdoch.

McCol, who pleaded guilty and was convicted for his part in the assault, also attacked Murdoch’s father by punching him several times and pushing him up against the car.

Murdoch tried to intervene but was held back by members of the public. He and his father were eventually able to escape.

Defence lawyer Dallas Terlich said Murdoch was “extremely embarrassed” about his conduct and had since stopped drinking.

Magistrate John Bentley said the conduct was “reprehensible”.

While he took into consideration the assault by the security guard, he told Murdoch he should have left earlier.

“You should have just left. Got into a taxi, (went) home. Phoned your dad and got out of there instead of going back and getting further assaulted,” Mr Bentley said.

Murdoch was placed on a good behaviour bond.

The security guard will face the Magistrates’ Court later this month.

Originally published as Geelong man Joel Murdoch faces court after St James nightclub incident