A violent streetside rampage filled with verbal abuse, a smashed window, and damaged letterboxes ended with an axe-wielding man lying dead on the street after being beaten with a scooter.

Ashley Morgan, 38, brought an axe when he met his on-again-off-again girlfriend before the violent episode unfolded in the early hours of April 9, 2024 in the town of Raymond Terrace, north of Sydney.

He was confronted by Kane Flanders and his brother, who came out of their homes to tell the couple to keep it down and that the noise was making their dogs distressed, a court has been told.

Flanders, 32, is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murder in relation to hitting Mr Morgan with his scooter before his death. 

Crown prosecutor Brendan Queenan told the jury Mr Morgan had taken an axe to the street outside Flanders' home, thinking someone had taken his drugs and was fleecing his bank accounts after stealing his phone.

Mr Morgan had been seen to be drug-affected the previous night and woke up in a state of panic after being moved to a friend's bedroom without his belongings.

He grabbed an axe because he did not know what he would be walking into, the jury was told.

CCTV footage allegedly caught Mr Morgan and his partner walking around the street, yelling abuse, and swinging at letterboxes with the axe.

"Hurry up bro, get me that little machete," Flanders allegedly said to his brother after coming out from his home, Mr Queenan said.

"This c*** is going to get chopped."

His brother Andrew Cameron went to grab a metal scooter sitting on their verandah and brought it back to Flanders, the court was told.

Mr Morgan fell to the ground after being hit with the scooter and his head was then stomped on, Mr Queenan told the jury.

Police and paramedics arrived to find Mr Morgan lying in the street, but he could not be revived.

Flanders told police he had been clobbered by the axe, the jurors heard.

"I hit him, he's literally attacking me with an axe," he told an officer at the scene.

An autopsy found Mr Morgan died of blunt force head injuries and detected cannabinoids and methamphetamine in his system.

Flanders has pleaded not guilty to murder, saying he acted in self-defence, Mr Queenan told the jury.

If the Crown cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt the 32-year-old did not act in self-defence, the jury can still find him guilty of manslaughter if they determine he acted excessively.

Flanders' barrister Stuart Bouveng did not make an opening statement.

The trial will continue before Justice Desmond Fagan on Tuesday.