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A former real estate manager on a drug ring growled like a dog when police tried to arrest him for beating a woman with a samurai sword, a court has said.
The confrontational vision of Karl Howard, 46, writhing on the floor and grunting incoherently in February last year, was played before NSW District Court on Friday.
Howard was reportedly on Viagra, cocaine and alcohol when he allegedly assaulted a woman with a sword at his home in Annandale in Sydney’s inner west.
Confrontational vision (pictured) of Karl Howard, 46, writhing on the floor and grunting incoherently last February, was played Friday before NSW District Court
Howard (pictured) was reportedly on Viagra, cocaine and alcohol when he attacked a woman with the sword at his home in Annandale, Sydney’s inner west
He then fled his home and hid from police in the back of a nearby Triton ute, covering himself with the netting, prosecutors allege.
Police bodycam footage of his arrest showed officers pinning Howard to the ground as he grunted and struggled to break free.
He continued to growl as he was trapped among the officers, trembling and breathing heavily, the court heard.
An officer told him to ‘stop kicking’ and he was heard calling an ambulance to treat Howard, who was ‘having some sort of psychotic episode’.
He continued the bizarre growl as he was trapped among the officers, shaking and breathing heavily (pictured)
Howard (pictured, Friday outside Downing Center District Court in Sydney) has pleaded guilty to a charge of assault involving actual bodily harm to one of the women and a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to the other
Black and white CCTV footage was also shown to the court, showing Howard crawling under a tarp on the back of the car to evade police (pictured)
Black and white CCTV footage was also shown to the court, which showed that before his arrest, Howard allegedly crawled under a tarp on the back of the car to evade police.
Then police cars were seen, lights burning, driving past the ute, searching the streets for him before he seemed to fall out of the vehicle onto the road.
Video of Howard later in a hospital bed after the scuffle showed his face purple with bruises and metal pins pinning his right arm.
He had dislocated his elbow during the fight.
The former estate agent looked distressed as he moaned and cursed, before crying when police spoke to him.
Video of Howard in a hospital bed after the scuffle left his face purple with bruises and metal pins pinning his right arm (pictured)
The former director of Ray White Balmain was home with two women on February 8, 2021 when he reportedly began behaving erratically in the early hours of the morning.
He threw a kitchen drawer across the room and made threatening gestures with scissors before elbowing one woman and punching the other, the court heard last February.
He then allegedly unsheathed a six-foot samurai sword and slashed one of the women, causing her to bleed profusely.
One of the women is said to have run from the house to get help before emergency services arrived.
Howard then allegedly ran out of his house and hid in a dumpster before jumping into the ute bin to hide.
Both women were taken to hospital.
Howard pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing actual bodily harm to one of the women and one count of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to the other.
But he pleaded not guilty to charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder and one charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent related to the Samurai sword attack.
Howard (pictured in the mask on Friday) reported to a forensic psychiatrist that he had been drinking drugs for 15 days, leading up to the alleged bloody assault, the court heard
Prosecutors are trying to convince Judge Anthony Townsend that Howard was guilty of these more serious charges or was in the throes of drug psychosis, the Daily telegram said.
Howard reported to a forensic psychiatrist that he had consumed drugs for 15 days leading up to the alleged bloody assault, the court heard.
He told Dr. Olav Nielssen that he had snorted five to six grams of cocaine a day, the court also heard.
Traces of alcohol, cocaine, valium and eight other drugs were found in his system, according to a toxicology report filed with the court.
It comes after Howard took a break to get away from the media on Thursday, outside NSW Downing Center court.
His trial will continue on Monday with the closing of entries.
It comes after Howard took a break to get away from media cameras (pictured) on Thursday, outside NSW Downing Center court