Legal arguments in the case of two men accused of a brutal bashing in North Bendigo over a year ago are set to continue in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court next month.
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A special hearing in the case of alleged Rebels motorcycle club members Dylan Marshall and Frank Guarneri was adjourned on Tuesday because the results of DNA tests were not yet available.
The third person accused of the attack, Frank's 26-year-old son Antonio Guarneri, has already pleaded guilty in relation to the incident.
However, Marshall is contesting the charges and Frank Guarneri joined him in doing so after receiving a sentence indication that, were he to plead guilty, would have seen him serve time in jail.
Frank Guarneri, who police previously identified as the president of the local Rebels chapter, has been charged with intentionally causing injury, unlawful assault with a weapon and unlawful assault in company with others, as well as committing an affray by using unlawful violence.
The court previously heard that the May 15, 2023 attack happened after Antonio Guarneri sped past the victim's home on his motorbike, and the man, a father of young children, signalled for him to slow down.
Guarneri, who was allegedly being followed by a white Holden Commodore driven by Marshall, then drove to his father's place nearby before returning to the victim's house with the other two.
Victim now a different person
According to police, the trio then accused the man of throwing something at the motorbike before punching him in the eye, hitting him with a baseball bat and smashing his face with a kettle.
He was left with cuts, swelling, bleeding, multiple broken teeth and concussion.
In a victim impact statement read to the court on May 23 the victim's wife said he was now "a different person" and she was scared of the sound of motorbikes.
On May 23 Antonio Guarneri pleaded guilty to a charge of committing an affray by using unlawful violence and was sentenced to a community corrections order and judicial monitoring for that and other offences.
On Tuesday the court heard the prosecution would call Antonio, who had "pleaded guilty to a certain statement of facts", to give evidence against Marshall.
The prosecution was unsure if he could be made to give evidence against his father due to provisions in the Evidence Act.
Under section 18 of the legislation, the partner, parent or child of an accused in a criminal proceeding can object to being required to give evidence against them.
Delay in DNA evidence
The court heard the DNA evidence from the scene of the attack was an important part of the police case that Dylan Marshall was the third of the three co-accused in the assault.
However, forensic testing of the collected material had not been put on a priority list and the results would not be available before August 21.
Dylan Marshall's barrister Christin Tom referred also to argument about identification that had been taking place on Facebook, which he said the defence would seek to have excluded.
The prosecution said they would call the victim of the attack, his partner and police officers who had attended the scene and taken statements as witnesses at the upcoming hearing.
The parties are due to return to court on July 4.
