Darwin court: Accused in Karama bloody brawl ‘thought it was a boxing match’

One of the men involved in a bloody brawl in Karama late last month thought he was attending a consensual ‘boxing match’, a court has heard.

ONE of the men involved in a northern suburbs family feud that culminated in a bloody brawl in Karama late last month thought he was attending a consensual “boxing match”, a court has heard.

Stacey Clark, 19, was charged with intentionally causing serious harm and going armed in public following the fracas on Koolinda Cres on October 31.

In applying for bail on Wednesday, his lawyer Robert Welfare said Clarke’s group had brought boxing gloves to the other family’s home “for a consensual fight that had been organised on Facebook”.

Mr Welfare said the bad blood had stemmed from an incident involving two 12-yearold children and “a perceived broken windscreen”.

“They were invited there to sort out some trouble that had happened in the previous two days where the victims were alleged to have assaulted children,” he said.

“(Clarke) had come to the aid of others and it gets very, very confusing”.

Mr Welfare said if his client didn’t get bail, he could languish in prison for up to two years before getting a chance to defend the charges at trial in the Supreme Court.

But prosecutor James Bainbridge said Clarke had armed himself with a shovel during the incident and he was concerned about further flair ups of violence if he was released on bail.

“Clearly this is something that occurred in the northern suburbs, I understand that it’s a violent street,” he said.

“There’s a number of witnesses that do reside on the same street and family members in that area who are living in close proximity.

“Clearly there’s some significant animosity between these two families.”

Mr Bainbridge said the victims had suffered serious injuries in the fight but conceded they were allegedly caused by another man who was armed with a knife and the serious harm charges against Clarke related to the men allegedly sharing a common purpose at the time.

“Ultimately, it will be a decision (for a jury) as to whether the conduct of the three co-offenders was proportionate in response to the conduct of the two complainants,” he said.

In ordering a bail assessment report, judge Alan Woodcock said Clarke was still a teenager and had no record of prior offending.

“The serious charges arise from something done allegedly by a co-offender in concert with him and, in those circumstances, I will have him assessed for supervision and electronic monitoring,” he said.

Clarke will return to court on Monday.