Supreme Court Five Men Charged With Assault

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30130, 14 May 1963, Page 7

Supreme Court Five Men Charged With Assault

An alleged assault in which a man was beaten unconscious on February 9 was described before Mr Justice Macarthur in the Supreme Court yesterday, when five men were charged with assault with intent to injure. Standing trial were Michael Walter Mark Prendeville, aged 29 (Mr G. S. Brockett), Albert Bernard Duke, aged 22 <Mr M. G. L. Loughnan), John Matthew Duke, aged 23 (Mr R. G. Blunt), Patrick Duke, aged 32 (Mr B. J. Drake), and Stanley Duke, aged 34 (Mr W. A. Wilson). They were charged with assaulting Stanley Arnold Arthur Beardsley, on February 9, with intent to injure him. Mr C. M. Roper prosecuted. Beardsley said in evidence that at 5.30 p.m. on February 9 he was sitting in his car .outside the Bower Hotel, New Brighton. Albert Duke's truck ran into the car and damaged a mudguard. After there had been a short discussion the truck moved off, and Beardsley followed. The truck stopped further along New Brighton road, Albert Duke got out, grasped Beardslev by the shirt, and hit him in the stomach. Albert Duke appeared to be drunk, said the witness. Beardsley said that he drove his car to the home of a Mr Wright for repairs to the mudguard. With him was a Mr Commons. The five accused arrived at Wright’s gate shortly afterwards in a truck. As he went out to the gate to see what they wanted, Prendeville struck him on the nose, and later kicked him in the head while Albert Duke held him down. He was knocked unconscious, suffered a broken noseand required stitches in cuts inside his mouth, said Beardsley. He spent a week in hospital. To Mr Loughnan Beardsley said that he had been previously convicted of assault. David John Commons corroborated the evidence about the truck’s striking the car. He also said that during the fracas at Wright’s property. John Duke and Stanley Duke struggled with him. Harold Robert Wright said that, on his property at Inwood road, Prendeville hit Beardsley and then Patrick Duke “went for me.” He and Patrick Duke struggled on the ground. Giving evidence, Prendeville said that the party in

the truck went to Inwood road solely to ascertain the damage to Beardsley’s car and to pay for it. Beardsley struck the first blow, and later tore off a thumb-nail with his teeth. Albert Duke denied having assaulted Beardsley during the first incident in New Brighton road. Beardsley, he said, dragged him from the cab of the truck and punched him. He neither gave nor received any blows during the Inwood road incident, he said.

Judith May Clark corroborated Albert Duke's evidence about the New Brighton road scuffle. From her veranda she clearly saw Beardsley drag Duke from the truck and hit him several times, said Mrs Clark.