Thrown punch, burnout lands 18-yo on probation

The young man sat bolt upright for the entirety of his appearance on four charges, which also included possessing a knife in a public place

The court heard Zane Ryan Smith was charged with four offences, the most serious of which being an incident where he punched another person, and another where he committed dangerous burnouts.​

An 18-year-old Gympie father with a squeaky-clean criminal history has landed on probation for a series of crimes including punching another person and doing a dangerous burnout in his car.

Zane Ryan Smith pleaded guilty to four offences, including assault occasioning bodily harm, possession of a knife in a public place, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and driving without due care and attention.

For the entirety of his appearance, Smith sat bolt upright at the bar table while he listened to the his case being read aloud in court.

Police prosecutor Melissa Campbell told the court some of Smith’s offences were committed while he was on bail.

Smith’s defence lawyer Chris Anderson said his client has a 14 month old son; the punch occurred when he witnessed people using drugs around his child.

Mr Anderson said there was minimal injury to the victim, and Smith was cooperative with police.

He also said Smith was charged with dangerous driving after doing a burn-out, spurred on from peer pressure from a passenger.

He was placed on probation for 15 months, disqualified from driving for nine months, and all property seized was ordered to be forfeited to the crown.