Two men charged with the attempted murder of Auckland waiter Stephen Byrne have been sent to the High Court for trial.
Andrew Andre Poki and Phillip James Taylor, both of Papakura, have been jointly charged with attempted murder, wounding with intent and robbery of Mr Byrne on March 24.
They pleaded not
guilty at a depositions hearing yesterday, after which Taylor was remanded in custody and Poki on bail until their next hearing.
In police depositions it is claimed the two men attacked Mr Byrne in a lane off Fort St in the central city, after Mr Byrne had allegedly tried to kiss Poki.
After finishing work at Cin Cin restaurant in Quay St, Mr Byrne, aged 37, had gone to a Queen St bar, where he had stayed drinking until after 5 am.
Witnesses told police they saw Mr Byrne with two other men in the Vulcan Lane area.
Mr Byrne was found lying bleeding in Fort Lane later that morning.
In a statement to police, Mr Byrne said he remembered leaving Cin Cin, after getting $250 in tips that night.
He could not remember anything else that happened the night he was attacked.
He was in a coma after the attack and is now in a brain recovery unit at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch.
A witness told police that the next day, after seeing news media reports about Mr Byrne, Taylor demonstrated how he had kicked a man who had tried to kiss his friend Poki.
The witness told police that Taylor said he had gone back after the attempted kiss and "stomped on him six or nine times, hard out."
Mr Byrne was later referred to as "that gay guy."
Taylor said Poki had also attacked Mr Byrne.
The men were initially charged with attempted murder and robbery, but an additional charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was laid by police yesterday.
They will appear in the High Court at Auckland next month.
