Bad blood between two Deloraine men led to a confrontation in which two men suffered wounds from a machete, a Supreme Court jury in Launceston heard.
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Zachary Lloyd Clark Newitt has pleaded not guilty to wounding Khan Egger, then 18, and to wounding Waylon Tatnell on December 18 2021.
Defence lawyer Grant Tucker said Mr Newitt was acting in self-defence for himself and his nine-year-old son when the injuries occurred. He said Mr Newitt was armed with a hammer, not a machete.
Mr Egger told crown prosecutor Verity Dawkins that he knew Mr Newitt, who had accused him of abusing his partner in an argument in a Deloraine supermarket.
He said there was no truth to Mr Newitt's claim and that he was living in Devonport then.
Mr Egger said he was having drinks with his cousin Mr Tatnell, Chloe Perry and Zara Plumbridge on the night in question.
He said that at about 9.30pm, he and Mr Tatnell walked about five minutes to Mr Newitt's home.
The jury heard that there had been an exchange of text messages before Mr Egger left and Mr Egger's father reported that Mr Newitt had been abusing him.
He said they did not enter the premises but that after ten minutes, Mr Newitt emerged onto the street yelling, screaming, and waving around the machete.
"He said he was going to chop my head off and slash everyone's throats," he said.
He said he saw a big blade and had instinctively put his foot up to protect himself when Mr Newitt got close.
Mr Egger, who had drunk up to 10 cans of Jack Daniels, said Mr Newitt swung the machete and hit him on the left arm.
Mr Egger denied to Mr Tucker that he was fired up on the night.
He conceded the visit was not the smartest thing to do and agreed that Mr Newitt had told the pair to "f--- off."
Mr Tatnell told the court that he was behind Mr Egger and was talking on his mobile phone when he felt a sharp pain to his shoulder.
He told Mr Tucker that Mr Newitt's name had come up during the evening's drinks around a fire pit, but he thought Mr Egger was just going for a walk when they left to go to Mr Newitt's home.
Ms Perry and Ms Plumbridge gave evidence that they waited at a corner some distance away from Mr Newitt's house.
The jury viewed a telephone recording in which Mr Newitt's loud voice could be heard yelling abuse and threats.
The trial continues on Wednesday at 2.15pm.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for The Examiner. My journalism career has clicked over 34 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for The Examiner. My journalism career has clicked over 34 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
