The story by an "an angry bull" about being stabbed outside a strip club is "like a B-grade Hollywood movie" while people would be lucky to have someone like the alleged perpetrator defending them, a lawyer has argued.
An ACT Supreme Court trial that began on Tuesday has heard that in July 2021, two men were left with knife-inflicted wounds during a fight between two groups of people outside the Wanderlust Gentleman's Club in Mitchell.
Clubgoer Joshua Demczyszyn sustained a 5cm-deep stab wound to his chest, leaving him hospitalised for four days, while security guard Ian Robertson sustained a cut to one of his hands.
The court heard that prior to the fight outside, there was one inside the club about 4.50am on the day.
Mr Demczyszyn, who alleged he was king hit inside, and his two friends had gone outside to look for someone involved in the first fight.
Joshua Sammuel Collins, who is on trial, and two of his friends also exited the club before the two groups crossed paths at the club's carpark.
Words were exchanged, triggering Mr Demczyszyn and one of Collins' friends to start grappling before the former allegedly punched the latter.
The prosecution case against Collins is that he used a box-cutter knife to stab Mr Demczyszyn after pulling him from behind.
When Mr Robertson intervened, Collins swung the knife at him, cutting one of his hands.
The accused was restrained by being thrown backwards then kicked in the head.
Mr Demczyszyn, who gave evidence on Tuesday, then ran back inside the club where he stayed for more than one hour before presenting himself to police.
A focus of the trial is on self-defence, which includes defending others, related to Collins' knife use, with the prosecution bearing the onus to exclude it.
The court heard it was not disputed that Collins had a knife and used it to wound.
The accused, 30, pleaded not guilty to two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, with one being intentional and the other being reckless.
Evidence in the trial has included a number of security footage from inside and outside the club, eyewitnesses, police, and doctors.
In his closing address on Thursday, defence lawyer Edward Chen argued his client was "outnumbered, outmuscled, and out of options" and had an honest belief about self-defence.
He said his client did not pull the knife out for some time because "it was a weapon of last resort".
Mr Chen said reasonable grounds also existed for self-defence, including that Mr Demczyszyn was already volatile and that Collins was outnumbered because the security guards did not do enough, meaning they were in Mr Demczyszyn's corner.
"Mr Collins' attention was entirely absorbed by this group of large, muscular men with Mr Demczyszyn at the head of the pack walking around like he's got an axe to grind," Mr Chen said.
"Mr Demczyszyn was like an angry bull.
"We'd all be so lucky if we have someone like Joshua Collins in our lives willing to step up and do what's necessary."
The defence lawyer attacked the credibility of the two who were stabbed and cut, saying Mr Demczyszyn's "different explanations" sounded "like a B-grade Hollywood movie".
"This is one of those rare cases where the just outcome is so glaringly obvious, you can acquit Mr Collins with confidence," Mr Chen said.
Prosecutor Morgan Howe argued that Collins' friend instigated the incident and that the prosecution had excluded self-defence.
The latter included four reasons: the presence of security guards de-escalating the situation before the altercation, Collins having time to reflect about other options, Collins bringing a knife to a fist fight, and the deep wound that Mr Demczyszyn suffered.
Mr Howe said the knife was "a disproportionate response".
"The knife is always loaded and is capable of inflicting serious wounds. The nature of this fight was not such that would permit the introduction of a knife," Mr Howe said.
The prosecutor said grievous bodily harm was made out, including because Mr Demczyszyn needed surgery that left a permanent scar.
"The fight in which he [Collins] intervened was a one-on-one fight. His intervention made it two on one," Mr Howe said.
The accused also faces back-up charges. The jury is scheduled to begin deliberations on Friday.
