A 23-year-old Melbourne man charged over an alleged road rage assault targeting a prominent local Islamic religious leader has confirmed he will enter a guilty plea when he appears for a sentencing hearing next month, a Victorian magistrates court has confirmed.\n\nBrendan Nicholls, a Bunnings warehouse employee, was arrested and charged with one count of common assault and one count of criminal damage in January, following the alleged evening incident on January 10 in Dandenong South. The victims of the attack were identified as Imam Ismet Purdic, leader of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Islamic Society (BHIS) Noble Park Mosque, and his wife Sabina Purdic.\n\nAccording to police allegations, the altercation began around 7:40 p.m. as Imam Purdic was traveling along the South Gippsland Highway. Occupants of a black Volkswagen Golf, who police say included Nicholls and a second co-accused man, began driving erratically around Purdic’s vehicle while yelling verbal abuse, including anti-Muslim slurs, at the couple. It is alleged that after Purdic pulled off the highway into a nearby service station to de-escalate the confrontation, the two men followed, damaged Purdic’s vehicle, and physically assaulted the imam by punching him in the head. The attack was only halted when bystanders stepped in to intervene.\n\nWhen Nicholls appeared for a preliminary hearing at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon, his defense lawyer Aabed Anaki told the court that all four criminal charges laid against his client had been resolved through pre-trial discussions with prosecuting police. Anaki requested an adjournment to schedule a full one-hour guilty plea hearing for May 1.\n\nMagistrate Hugh Radford granted the adjournment, ordering that Nicholls remain in custody at the Western Plains Correctional Centre until the plea hearing, where he will appear via remote video link. Radford confirmed on record that the case has proceeded to a guilty plea arrangement.\n\nA second man who was also charged in connection with the alleged attack is scheduled to make his first court appearance at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on May 22. No further details about his case or potential plea have been released publicly at this stage.
Brendan Nicholls: Man accused of attack on Imam Ismet Purdic to plead guilty, court told
