Accused machete attacker hit street

A LONG-serving Supreme Court judge let the man who allegedly slashed a Gold Coast mum’s face with a machete walk free on a suspended sentence two days before the alleged attack, a court has heard.

Lawyers for former crane operator Clint Darryn Hall, 35, were in the Supreme Court in Brisbane yesterday where they failed in their bid for Hall to be freed on bail, claiming he is “not a violent man”.

Hall has been in prison on remand since July 1, just hours after he and his step-brother Thomas Ealam, 18, are alleged to have used martial arts-style swords to cut a 13cm gash in the face of Ingrid Brown, and to slash the arm of her partner Michael Liddell at their Coombabah home.

Ms Brown was cut from her mouth to her ear after she and Mr Liddell allegedly confronted Hall for allegedly stealing copper pipe from a nearby construction site at 3am.

Hall and Ealam both face a potential life sentence if convicted of two charges of “carrying out acts intended to maim or disfigure or disable”.

Hall’s barrister Wayne Tolton told Justice Helen Bowskill yesterday that Justice James Douglas agreed to release Hall “immediately on parole” on June 27 after he pleaded guilty to four ice possession charges.

“The reason he was given that sentence was in my respectful submission the judge was impressed with his ability to completely rehabilitate himself from drug use,” Mr Tolton told the court.

Mr Tolton told the court that Hall’s criminal “history shows he is not a violent man”, although he was convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon in 2015 and on June 2 this year convicted of assaulting his neighbour.

Hall claimed in his affidavit that he was “beaten with a garden spade” by both Mr Liddell and Ms Brown before the alleged machete attack and “suffered extensive injuries”.

Prosecutor Victoria Adams said she accepted Hall was injured but was unsure how.

Justice Bowskill told the court that Hall’s “alleged offending, two days after being given immediate release on parole” was “really concerning” and “significant” in her decision to refuse him bail.

Mr Tolton told the court that Hall intends to plead not guilty and believes he may have a defence to the charges.