Three teenagers have been charged after a Canberra father was allegedly stabbed with a metal star picket in what a magistrate has described as an "ultra-violent" Australia Day attack.
Jayden Robert Caldwell, 19, Dylan James Summerell, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, were arrested at a construction site in the Gungahlin suburb of Taylor early on Thursday morning.
Police allege the trio was hiding there after attacking a resident of that suburb in his driveway late the previous night.
Documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon allege the resident was "struck over the head with a blunt object, punched in the face numerous times, kicked in the head, stomped on and stabbed in the thigh".
Investigators claim the man's stepdaughter tried to drag Mr Caldwell, who is said to have had a metal star picket in his hands, off the alleged victim.
Police officers who were called to the scene say they found the alleged victim bleeding from his head and a puncture wound to his right thigh, while there was also blood on the driveway.
The alleged victim later told police he knew two of the three teenagers accused of attacking him.
He said the trio had returned to his place after an earlier confrontation, which had ended with him chasing them off his property with a spanner because he believed they were attempting to "stand over" him and take his dirt bikes from his garage.
According to court documents, the alleged victim told police all three teenagers took turns assaulting him and that he believed Mr Caldwell had stabbed him with the star picket.
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The accused teenagers, who all refused to participate in interviews with police, have each been charged with joint commission assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
In court on Thursday, magistrate James Stewart said the allegations in this case were of "a very serious version" of that offence.
"My instinct tells me this matter's got a long way to run and there's gonna be more serious charges coming," Mr Stewart said.
Both Mr Summerell and Mr Caldwell asked Mr Stewart to grant them bail, which prosecutor Hannah Lee argued against.
Ms Lee told the court both young men posed a risk to the safety and welfare of the alleged victim.
But Mr Summerell's lawyer, Sam Lynch, said the 18-year-old had "no need to be near the complainant".
He conceded the allegations were serious but said they were also "quite vague", with "no specific allegation against Mr Summerell".
Mr Lynch proposed a series of bail conditions, which Mr Stewart ultimately accepted could reduce any risks Mr Summerell posed.
"In a certain sense, Mr Summerell, you're a bit lucky ... to get bail, so don't wreck your chance," Mr Stewart told the 18-year-old.
Mr Caldwell was, however, not so lucky when his case was called.
His lawyer echoed Mr Lynch's submission about the allegations being vague, and said appropriate bail conditions could be crafted.
She added that Mr Caldwell could live with his grandmother, which would be "good for him" because the relative would help him get a driver's licence and find work as a farmhand.
The lawyer said the 19-year-old had instructed her that he did not know the alleged victim and "would not know where to locate [him]".
But Ms Lee told the court the alleged victim was fearful for his safety, and Mr Stewart found there would be "an extreme risk" to the man and other potential witnesses if Mr Caldwell was released.
He therefore remanded Mr Caldwell, who did not enter a plea, in custody until his next court appearance on February 7.
Mr Summerell will, meanwhile, return to court on April 7, having pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
The 17-year-old boy was expected to face the ACT Children's Court on Thursday. The outcome of his first appearance is not known.
