Weapons seized and more arrests expected as detectives probe early-morning violence

Police have charged six people following a violent early-morning brawl in Goonellabah that left one man dead and another seriously injured.

Emergency services were first called just before 3am on November 7, when a 31-year-old man arrived at Lismore Base Hospital with severe head injuries. He was later airlifted to the Gold Coast University Hospital and has since been released.

A second emergency call followed at 6.20am, when the body of a 25-year-old man was discovered on a walking track off Fischer Street.

Police quickly set up multiple crime scenes and launched an extensive investigation.

Detectives believe the two men were caught up in a violent brawl at Clifford Park in the early hours of the morning.

Strike Force Pineshaw — led by Richmond Police District detectives with support from the Homicide Squad — was established to probe the circumstances around the fatal incident.

Arrests and weapons haul

The first arrest came a fortnight later, when detectives detained a 23-year-old Lismore man on November 20.

He was charged with armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, affray, reckless wounding in company, and possessing an unauthorised firearm. He appeared before court the next day and was granted strict conditional bail.

As inquiries continued, police executed a search warrant in Goonellabah at 6.20am on Thursday. Inside the home, officers allegedly uncovered a cache of weapons — including knives, bats, a gel-blaster firearm and a compound bow.

Six people were arrested at the property: five men aged between 18 and 27, and a 17-year-old boy.

Three of the men — aged 18, 21 and 23 — were each charged with affray and reckless wounding in company.

A 22-year-old man faces the most serious charges: affray, reckless wounding in company, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of armed with intent to commit an indictable offence.

A 27-year-old man was charged with affray, reckless wounding in company and armed with intent.

All five adult men were refused bail and appeared before Lismore Local Court today.

The 17-year-old was granted strict conditional bail and will face a children’s court on December 11.

Multiple investigations ongoing

Police say inquiries into the alleged brawl and the 25-year-old man’s death are far from over.
A separate critical-incident investigation is also underway, reviewing the actions of police who responded on the morning of November 7.