A MAN accused of stabbing champion Newcastle bodyboarder Ryan Duck in a random and violent beachside attack is set to stand trial.
Billy Jo James Brown fronted Taree Local Court this week when he pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) to a person with intent.
Charges of impersonating a police officer, stalking or intimidating, and having custody of a knife in a public place, were listed as related by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
One count of wounding a person with intent to cause GBH was withdrawn by the DPP.
Brown will have his matter mentioned for the first time in Sydney Downing Centre District Court next month, where he will be handed a trial date.
He remains behind bars and made no application for bail.
Brown, then 35, was arrested in the hours after emergency services were called to a holiday park on The Lakes Way in Pacific Palms just after midnight on November 28, last year.
Police officers and ambulance paramedics found 35-year-old Mr Duck at the scene suffering multiple stab wounds to his arms and abdomen.
He was urgently flown to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition, where he underwent hours of surgery.
Brown was taken into custody at a war memorial on The Lakes Way near Forster-Tuncurry about 6am that morning, and was charged with the stabbing.
Mr Duck was on a camping trip with workmates from the Newcastle bar he managed when Brown - a stranger to him - allegedly attacked him while he fished on a beach near Forster.
Mr Duck suffered serious injuries to his hand, diaphragm and lung.
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