Two men charged over a brutal stabbing in a Bunnings car park sparked by a pair of allegedly stolen AirPods were already on bail for another violent assault, where the pair are accused of bashing and slashing a man’s face on New Year’s Eve.
Meadow Heights man Tyson Dwyer, 18, appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, charged with nine offences – including intentionally and recklessly causing injury and affray – following a fight at a car park in Broadmeadows in Melbourne’s north that left two men, aged 40 and 18, with stab wounds.
Police said they found the injured men, both from Glenroy, after being called to a fight outside the Pearcedale Parade store about 7.30pm on Monday.
Police allege the victims made their way to the car park to confront a group of young men, which included a 14-year-old boy, after the 18-year-old’s earbuds had been stolen during a robbery at a nearby shopping centre about 6.15pm.
The pair, who didn’t report the robbery to police, had used Apple’s Find My app to track the location of the AirPods.
Disturbing details of the victims’ injuries were outlined in court, including that one of the men was left with stab wounds in his genital and anal regions, while the other was allegedly stabbed and slashed twice in the face.
The court heard a trail of blood led police to a nearby unit where Dwyer and three other young males were hiding in a closet.
A lawyer for Dwyer sought bail for his client, telling the court Dwyer was particularly vulnerable for several reasons, including a significant cognitive defect and his young age.
This application was strongly opposed by police.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Hartwig told the court the prosecution had a “strong case” against Dwyer, which put him at the scene of the Broadmeadows car park due to extensive CCTV footage that captured the fight and other evidence investigators had gathered.
The court heard Dwyer had an extensive criminal history and had already been bailed over a separate violent assault with his co-accused, 19-year-old Craigieburn man Hakopa Heremaia, at the time of the Bunnings incident.
Heremaia fronted Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where his lawyer revealed he had also been on bail at the time of the alleged Bunnings attack over the same New Year’s Eve assault.
Heremaia did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody.
Magistrate Brett Sonnet said he had watched the CCTV of the fight in the Broadmeadows car park at least 10 times.
He described what he saw as “absolutely outrageous” and “emblematic of cowardly conduct”, worsened by the accused young men carrying weapons to inflict harm on innocent victims.
“The victims were subject to extraordinary and brutal attack,” he said.
“It clearly captures offending of a grave nature … four young men attacking without any hesitation, without any demonstration of mercy.”
“[It] clearly shows conduct that was premeditated, designed to inflict as much injury on these two hapless victims as possible.”
In the New Year’s Eve incident, a man was allegedly set upon at a house in Broadmeadows in the early hours of January 1 by Dwyer and Heremaia.
Hartwig told the court that in this incident, the victim and his partner had left a New Year’s Eve party in Broadmeadows to watch fireworks from a bridge.
On their way to the bridge they saw a group of about 20 young people, including Dwyer and Heremaia, who had gone to school with the victim.
The victim returned to a house in Broadmeadows at about 12.20am, and police said approximately 45 minutes later he heard the front door open and looked to see an unknown male walk inside.
The victim allegedly approached the male and said to him, “who the f*** are you?” before pushing him out the front door and shutting the screen door, police told the court.
“After 35 years, I thought I could no longer be shocked. But that’s not true,” said Magistrate Brett Sonnet.Credit: Darrian Traynor
Police allege the intruder shouted, “I’m going to get my boys. Stay right here. I’ve got something for you”, before leaving the house.
About five minutes later, the victim heard banging on the fence at the front of the house, went outside and saw about 20 young men, police say.
Hartwig told the court the victim spotted Heremaia leaning against the fence and that Heremaia said, “Do you want a piece of this?”
He said the victim then put up his arms and replied: “Yeah, go on. What are you going to do?”
Police alleged Heremaia jumped the fence while the victim put up his arms to defend himself.
Hartwig said while the victim was looking at Heremaia, Dwyer is alleged to have stabbed him in his right cheek, leaving him bleeding.
“The victim looked at this male who struck him immediately, recognising it as the accused, Tyson Dwyer,” Hartwig said.
Police allege the victim was then assaulted by Heremaia. The victim was taken to hospital and later underwent surgery to repair his jaw and cheek.
In denying Dwyer bail, Sonnet said it was the accused’s third alleged attack on an innocent victim and that he posed an unacceptable risk of reoffending.
The magistrate said he continued to be shocked by an increase in serious crime across Victoria.
“What used to be extraordinary and unusual is now commonplace,” he said.
“After 35 years, I thought I could no longer be shocked. But that’s not true. I can be shocked by the brutality, violence, prevalence … absolutely extraordinary.”
Dwyer was remanded in custody to reappear in May.
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