Mark MacLean was critically injured in an alleged attack near his Warkworth home following an argument with street racers. Photo / Supplied
Mark MacLean was critically injured in an alleged attack near his Warkworth home following an argument with street racers. Photo / Supplied
A 21-year-old accused of having attacked a father-of-four north of Auckland over the weekend made his first appearance in court this afternoon.
The Mahurangi East resident appeared in the dock of North Shore District Court as his mother and five other family members, who spent hours today waiting for his appearance, sat in the back row of the gallery.
Judge John Bergseng granted a request by defence lawyer Oliver Troon, acting on behalf of lawyer Ron Mansfield, KC, for interim name suppression after police were neutral on the matter.
The defendant did not immediately enter pleas for two charges: injuring Warkworth resident Mark MacLean with intent to injure and wounding MacLean with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
MacLean remains in an induced coma with the possibility of brain damage.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 14 years’ prison for the grievous bodily harm charge.
Police arrested the man last night, three days after emergency services were called to the intersection of Falls and Hudson Rds, Warkworth, after a report of an argument between a man and a group of people in vehicles.
“Shortly after, the man was found seriously injured on the side of the road, and was transported to hospital,” a police spokesperson said. “He remains there, in a critical but stable condition.”
Police said they are still wanting to hear from witnesses to the late Friday night incident but are not looking for anyone else.
MacLean’s wife, Dereda Lipsey-MacLean, earlier told the Herald her husband had been in a verbal and physical fight with someone that night after street racers started doing burnouts outside their home. All the cars in the area left and she told MacLean to go for a walk to cool off after the dispute.
Soon after, she said, one of her children began screaming that there had been another fight.
Mark MacLean and his wife Dereda Lipsey-MacLean.
“I went out there to find my teenage boy holding Mark’s head in his arms,” she said.
She said her husband - an avid surfer, DJ and roofer - could walk after the alleged attack but he couldn’t talk.
“I honestly feel like I am in a nightmare that I just can’t wake up out of,” she said.
Mark MacLean’s family said they hope to know more about the extent of his brain damage as doctors begin to ease sedation in coming days.
The defendant today wore a black T-shirt as he stood in court with his arms crossed and one hand resting on his chin. Judge Bergseng ordered him to return to court next month to enter pleas.
In the meantime, he has been remanded back into custody.
