Videos show a party boat birthday boy repeatedly attacking a retreating Canberra construction worker, who eventually stabs him in an alleged attempt to kill, a magistrate has said.
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Magistrate James Lawton cited the "obvious" issue of stabber Hayden Ashley Ryan Todkill potentially having acted in self-defence as he granted the 26-year-old bail on Thursday.
Todkill had been in custody since he was arrested on March 9, four days after the Kingston incident that resulted in him being charged with attempted murder and intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm.
The Ngunnawal resident, who has pleaded not guilty, exhaled loudly when he appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court via audio-visual link to hear Mr Lawton's decision.
Todkill applied for bail on Tuesday, when defence lawyer Jacob Robertson argued there were a number of special or exceptional circumstances that favoured the 26-year-old's release.
Mr Robertson cited the prospects of his client being able to argue self-defence, the availability of $152,800 worth of sureties, and the time Todkill would spend awaiting trial.
Prosecutor Beth Morrisroe opposed bail, arguing the special or exceptional circumstances required for conditional liberty in an attempted murder case had not been established.
When Mr Lawton announced his decision on Thursday, he said he was not satisfied there would be an inordinate delay before Todkill's case was heard in the ACT Supreme Court.
"It seems highly likely that the defendant will face his trial within 12 months," he said.
"Delays of over two years have not been considered unreasonable."
The magistrate also said the cash and assets available as sureties were not, in themselves, special or exceptional.
However, he said CCTV and mobile phone footage played to the court on Tuesday, and the "obvious" issue of potential self-defence the videos revealed, were special or exceptional.
Mr Lawton also said there was "much force" in Mr Robertson's submission that the videos of the incident were the best available evidence, describing how they showed Todkill initially engaging in a "consensual fight" with another man outside The Dock in Kingston.
He said it seemed this was a "spontaneous" conflict, which had been sparked by an earlier incident involving this man and one of Todkill's friends.
That friend had accused the man of spilling a drink on her during a Lake Burley Griffin party boat cruise to celebrate the alleged attempted murder victim's birthday.
Todkill and the supposed drink spiller exchanged words at The Dock after the voyage, and the pair agreed to "go outside" to trade blows.
However, the stoush that ensued was not a one-on-one affair and Todkill was outnumbered.
"It appears [Todkill] was quickly overwhelmed by several assailants, including [the alleged victim]," Mr Lawton said, noting the videos showed the 26-year-old with a cut head.
Hostilities eventually spilled down the street and Mr Lawton said Todkill's shirt was "ripped off" in the vicinity of Eastlake Parade, where Todkill stabbed the alleged victim several times.
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"The aggression of the [alleged victim] can be seen when he repeatedly approaches and attacks [Todkill], even after [Todkill] repeatedly retreats," the magistrate said.
Mr Lawton went on to say he was not satisfied Todkill was a flight risk, despite prosecution concerns the 26-year-old had "fled" to Nowra before being arrested and extradited to the ACT.
He was also not convinced Todkill, who had "a short but significant criminal history" that included jail sentences for violent crimes, was likely to reoffend or interfere with witnesses.
While there was a potential issue of Todkill being able to interfere with evidence, given the knife used in the incident had not been recovered by police, Mr Lawton said this did not warrant the refusal of bail.
The magistrate accordingly freed Todkill on several conditions, which include prohibitions on the construction worker drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs.
One of the 26-year-old's family members must also deposit $10,000 with the court registry and agree to forfeit the money should Todkill fail to appear in the future.
Todkill is next due to appear in court on May 23.
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