Nathan Paul Bell pleads guilty to two counts of serious assault on police while pretending to armed while facing Gold Coast court
A full-time carer with a criminal history stretching 10 pages has landed in hot water yet again.
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A full-time carer who yelled “bang bang” when he pointed a replica gun at two police officers in a quiet Miami street has apologised in court.
Nathan Paul Bell had retrieved the gel blaster – a toy which looks like a real weapon and shoots plastic pellets – from his home after officers came to investigate a disturbance in the area on November 26, 2020.
The 41 – year-old pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Thursday to two counts of serious assault on police while pretending to armed.
When asked if he had anything to say Bell replied: “Just how sorry I am for my actions and the problems I have caused.”
“I understand the long term ramifications and I am terribly sorry for that,” he said.
The court was told police were called to Miami after reports of a disturbance and had returned to their care after speaking to Bell.
Bell then became agitated, and approached police at the car who gave him the Policelink number.
Bell then returned into his home got out a gel blaster which looked like a rifle and pointed it at police.
The court was told Bell yelled “bang, bang” while gesturing as if he was firing the weapon.
His actions saw the two officers take cover and Judge Deborah Holliday sentenced Bell to 12 months’ prison with immediate release on parole.
She said one of the officers had been left with anxiety and the other was alarmed and thought their life was in danger.
Judge Holliday said the officers were just going about their duties.
“They don’t need the likes of you to do a stupid act an scare them so that they themselves end up suffering a mental health condition,” she said.
Defence barrister James McNab, instructed by Allen & Searing Criminal Lawyers, said the act was out of character for Bell.
He provided medical certificates and a reference from Bell’s 88-year-old grandmother.
Bell acts as a full-time carer for her.
The court was told Bell has a 10 page criminal history for drug and public nuisance offences. He has no previous history of violence.
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Originally published as Nathan Paul Bell pleads guilty to two counts of serious assault on police while pretending to armed while facing Gold Coast court
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