A Melbourne man accused of a home invasion at a Kialla house with five other men, has been refused bail.
Deng Chol, 27, of Point Cook, unsuccessfully applied for bail in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court.
He is charged with trespass with an intent to assault, intentionally causing injury and recklessly causing injury.
Police informant Detective Senior Constable Luke Arrowsmith told the court Mr Chol and five co-accused went to a Kialla home at 11pm on January 11 looking for a man over a previous dispute.
At the home, the man they were looking for jumped the back fence and ran away.
The six accused men allegedly punched, kicked and stomped on a man at the house for about one minute, with all six kicking him on the ground at the same time, Det Sen Constable Arrowsmith said.
The court heard the victim was knocked unconscious and lost multiple teeth in the alleged assault.
The six men then pushed their way inside the house and demanded a female occupant find the man they were looking for, Det Sen Constable Arrowsmith said.
Mr Chol got the woman’s house keys from her bedroom and several of the men armed themselves with knives from the kitchen before they went into the garage looking for the man, the court was told.
One of the men punched the woman in the face, with another yelling “They f***** me up yesterday, they jumped me. I was bleeding, they stole my f****** car, this is what they’re gonna get”, Det Sen Constable Arrowsmith said.
He said that co-accused went on to say “I swear I’ll kill someone tonight”.
The court was told that when police arrived 10 minutes after the men arrived at the house, the six ran off through Kialla Gardens Village retirement facility before they were eventually caught.
Det Sen Constable Arrowsmith said Mr Chol should not be bailed, arguing he was a danger to the safety and welfare of other people, a risk of interfering with witnesses and a risk of committing further offences on bail.
He said Mr Chol had six matters before the court – mainly driving offences, plus one trespass – at the time of this alleged incident.
He also described a “deplorable criminal history” and said the two victims were extremely frightened.
Mr Chol’s solicitor Shana McDonald argued her client could live with his parents and siblings, and could have bail conditions including that he abide by a curfew, not contact witnesses, report weekly to police and not go to Shepparton.
She also argued there would be significant delays in the matter going to trial, as well as telling the court CCTV footage showed her client holding back one of his co-accused.
Magistrate Anne Goldsbrough refused bail, describing the incident as a “chaotic and startling scene”.
She said a significant feature in her deliberations was the possible delay in the matter going to trial; however, she said she was not happy with the proposed bail address, felt a curfew would not be obeyed and was concerned about him contacting witnesses.
Mr Chol will return to court in April.