Northern River and Beyond Crime News
Upon arrival, police found a man suffering a stab wound to his back.
Paramedics treated him at the scene before taking him to Tweed Valley Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Ram Dahl, 40, was arrested at the scene and charged with reckless wounding.
He appeared before Judge L Robinson in Bail Division from custody on Friday.
Opposing bail, police prosecutor Sergeant Sinclair argued the public nature of the confrontation and Dahl’s history of violent offending made him too great a risk to release, and that bail conditions could not adequately manage that risk.
The court heard Dahl had previously served time in prison for domestic violence and had an earlier conviction for using a weapon — also a knife — to commit an indictable offence.
Sergeant Sinclair said the case had the hallmarks of “perceived vigilantism”, which “cannot be tolerated” when it escalates to knife violence.
The court heard the confrontation followed a community Facebook post warning locals about a man and his vehicle after reports he had been spotted near the school Dahl’s children attend.
Dahl’s brother later saw the car belonging to Nick Skoric, 65, parked across the road from Dahl’s home.
Defence lawyer Eddie Lloyd said Dahl went over to try to take Skoric’s car key so he could not leave before police arrived.
She conceded the move had “the feel of vigilante justice” and told the court she had made that clear to Dahl.
But Ms Lloyd said the situation escalated when Skoric allegedly produced what she described as a “very large and frightening knife”.
She said Dahl then went into “self-defence mode”, disarmed Skoric during the struggle and called police himself.
Ms Lloyd told the court Dahl had turned his life around since his previous offending and was now a supportive family man with strong ties to the local community.
The alleged victim of the Murwillumbah stabbing, Skoric, was himself on parole at the time of the confrontation.
Court records show Skoric had been released from custody just 15 days earlier after serving eight months of a two-year jail term.
He was sentenced over seven driving offences, including high and mid-range drink-driving and repeatedly driving while disqualified.
His sentence runs until November 22, 2027.
Judge Robinson described the circumstances as “unusual”.
She said Dahl’s actions before the confrontation were “unfortunate” and that calling police “might have been a better option”.
However, she found Dahl’s account — that he wanted to prevent Skoric leaving while police were on their way — was not inconsistent with the police version of events.
That version, the court heard, alleged Skoric produced the knife that ultimately caused his own injury during the ensuing struggle.
Judge Robinson found there was potential for Dahl to raise a defence to the reckless wounding charge and granted him bail.
Dahl must not contact Skoric or any prosecution witnesses, except through a lawyer.
Dahl is due to reappear over the stabbing at Murwillumbah Local Court on August 19.
Police say investigations are continuing.
This article reports allegations and submissions made during bail proceedings. Bail proceedings do not determine guilt.