A woman out for dinner with her family in Woden feared they might become "collateral damage" as rival sets of bikies clashed, a court has heard.
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Canberra Comanchero commander Pitasoni Tali Ulavalu is facing a hearing in the ACT Magistrates Court this week as he contests charges of affray and common assault.
Another three Comancheros - Penaia Tuineau, Taniela Fukaafolaniimoa Tai and Sugimatatihuna Bernard Gabriel Mena - are also subject to the hearing and deny charges of affray.
They have taken a different path to comrades Jaymie Leam Turner and Palei Samiu Maifelemi, who previously received fines and good behaviour orders after pleading guilty to affray.
Each of the men were charged following an incident at the Southern Cross Club in Woden on January 18 last year.
It is alleged that the Comancheros intimidated four rival Nomads who were having dinner, with a scuffle that ensued resulting in one of the Nomads being punched and suffering a broken nose.
A couple who were seated with their children a few booths away from the Nomads gave evidence at the hearing on Tuesday.
The woman said she did not personally see any violence, but said she saw a man with blood coming from his nose as a group of "massive" men crowded around him.
She described the experience as "quite intimidating", and said her motherly instincts kicked in as she considered what might happen next.
She said that other than when her husband briefly got up to find a manager, the family remained in their booth in the belief they would be safer if they stayed put rather than trying to move away.
"[I feared] we might be collateral damage in whatever might have been happening with that group of people," the woman said.
Her husband told the court he became aware of what was going on when a piece of lemon was flung onto their table.
He said that when he looked for the source of the lemon, he saw a number of men in a "heated discussion".
He said one man was gesticulating angrily in another's face a few booths away, before the latter man's head snapped backwards and he reached for his nose.
"I saw the hand that struck him," the witness said. "I'm presuming it was from a punch and not a poke in the nose."
The couple said that as they left the club, they had their memberships refunded because they did not want to return after what had happened.
Later on Tuesday, the Nomad who was allegedly punched in the nose claimed the only thing he remembered of the night in question was going to the club and sitting down.
After being shown CCTV of the incident, he accepted that he was probably punched at some point, and that what he was captured wiping away from his nose "could well have been" blood.
Another of the Nomads told the court they were just there to have dinner when a group - some of whom he recognised as Comancheros - came over.
He said someone he had not seen before tried to headbutt him, but the incident was "over before it really started".
The other two Nomads failed to answer subpoenas to give evidence.
The hearing continues.