Jamie-Lee William Deacon in court for assaulting police

A man who broke into Gympie’s ten pin bowling alley while the town was recovering from devastating floods later armed himself with a mop before a stoush with police.

Jamie-Lee William Deacon was sentenced in Gympie Magistrates Court on October 25, 2022.

A 29-year-old man who hit a cop with a mop was the same culprit who ransacked Gympie Ten Pin when the business was at its most vulnerable.

Jamie-Lee William Deacon appeared via video link in Gympie Magistrates Court on Tuesday, October 25.

Gympie Ten Pin was broken into not long after the bowling alley was gutted by the 2022 floods.

Deacon had stolen bowling equipment, keys and a compressor from the business after they began clean-up and repairs, magistrate Chris Callaghan told the court.

“That was opportunistic and quite a bad thing to do,” he said.

He also stole his former partner’s concession and bank card before withdrawing $100 from her account on May 4, the court heard.

Deacon assaulted and obstructed two police officers on May 13, it was told.

While intending to return his father’s car keys, a run-in with the cops spurred him to flee into a toilet block and re-emerge with a mop in hand.

He used the mop to whack one of the police officers in the face, the court heard.

Deacon was also caught with ammunition in his house, which his lawyer Mark Oliver said was thought to be disposed of by an acquaintance.

Mr Oliver told the court his client was taking meth and was not medicated for his mental conditions at the time of the offences.

He was sentenced to two years and six months prison to be released on parole on February 20, 2023 with his 166 days spent in custody declared as time served.

Convictions were recorded.

Deacon pleaded guilty to three counts of wilfully obstructing police, two counts of assaulting police while in performance of their duties, one count of failing to dispose a syringe, one count of possessing a phone used in connection with a drug offence, two counts of stealing after previous convictions and one count of possessing ammunition.