Mark Stewart Ellwood pleaded guilty to an assault charge in Gladstone Magistrates Court

A man enjoying his first night out in Gladstone after just moving to the Central Queensland town was bashed in a sickening attack over a minor disagreement. READ MORE HERE:

A Gladstone man has avoided prison time even after a court was shown footage of him knocking his victim to the ground and kicking him in a brutal episode.

Mark Stewart Ellwood’s offending was described as “sickening offending which could have killed his victim easily” by an experienced judge.

Ellwood, 28, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Gladstone District Court to assault occasioning bodily harm in company while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.

A court heard how on the victim’s first night out in Gladstone following a move from Melbourne, he was set upon by a severely intoxicated Ellwood.

“Around 3.30am on October 4, 2020 Ellwood and a group of his friends attended the taxi rank outside Pie World on Glenlyon Street in Gladstone Central,” Crown Prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said.

She then tendered a disk which contained CCTV footage of Ellwood’s vicious assault, of which a snippet was played to the court.

It depicted a melee involving several people spilling out into the drive-through area of the Pie World facility, before Ellwood inflicted his incriminating blows.

After knocking his victim to the ground, Ellwood kicked him once to the abdomen area before his friend attempted to step in.

Elwood shrugged off his friend and pushed aside a female, also trying to intervene in the assault, before kicking the victim again and stomping on his chest area.

Ms Lawrence said the violence was clearly instigated by Ellwood, who had no prior history of a like nature on his criminal record.

Ellwood’s defence barrister Tom Pollie said his client had instructed his victim it was “time to pass on” after the victim had his advances on a woman rejected.

A can of energy drink which Ellwood was holding was knocked out of his hand by the victim and the incident unfolded from there.

“My client has reached out to his victim and offered him a full apology for his actions, which has been accepted,” Mr Pollie said.

“Nothing can escape the fact my client inflicted some awful blows onto the complainant.”

In sentencing Judge Craig Chowdury said Ellwood could have killed his victim and there was no excuse for his appalling behaviour.

“The fact the victim might have been mouthing off is irrelevant because the defendant proceeds to disgracefully stomp on him and kick him,” Mr Chowdury said.

Ellwood was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Mark Stewart Ellwood pleaded guilty to an assault charge in Gladstone Magistrates Court