Joseph Robert Mazzaracca faced court after he threatened to drive his car into Dingo Beach pub
The Whitsunday father had been refused service while trying to buy his third bottle of vodka.
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An intoxicated man with blood all over his face warned Dingo Beach Hotel patrons to clear the building because he was “about to drive straight through it” after he was refused service.
Joseph Robert Mazzaracca had been attempting to buy his third bottle of vodka for the day when he made the threat in front of hotel staff, who immediately alerted police.
Proserpine Magistrates Court has heard it was just one incident in a string of altercations Mazzaracca had with members of the public and police in the Hideaway Bay / Dingo Beach area on March 25.
As a result he was charged with drunk and disorderly conduct, public nuisance, and obstructing police.
The court heard Mazzaracca was “friendly and sober” when he bought his first bottle of vodka from the hotel midafternoon.
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He got a second bottle at 6pm, and by 7.20pm had turned up to his ex-wife’s house to hurl abuse, threats and damage property.
At 8pm, he returned to the pub for another bottle of vodka shirtless and bleeding from the face – a result of being “jumped by three guys,” he claimed to police.
When staff refused to serve him, he yelled at another patron to “get out of the hotel because I’m about to drive straight through it”.
He was finally arrested at 8.30pm at his Saddleback Road home, where he continued to display “extremely threatening, abusive, violent behaviour” towards police as they placed him in handcuffs.
Representing himself in court, Mazzaracca pleaded guilty to all charges and claimed his behaviour was because of a “mental breakdown”.
He said he had been struggling with mental health issues for several months and on March 24 had driven to Mackay to admit himself to a mental health facility, but had been turned away.
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He had gone to his ex-wife’s house in search of prescribed medication he had misplaced, and became frustrated when she could not help him find it, he told the court.
“That night, I lost it,” he said.
When Magistrate James Morton asked Mazzaracca if he thought he had a drinking problem, the small business owner revealed a custody dispute with his ex-wife over their daughter had triggered the incident.
“I wasn’t drinking while I had my daughter week on week off, then my ex found out I was seeing someone else and stripped all my rights to my daughter,” he said.
“When you take my daughter away from me, that’s a different story.
“To be honest your honour, I was at the edge.”
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Mr Morton locked Mazzaracca in custody overnight before handing down a three-month suspended jail term and $300 fine.
Mazzaracca must also perform 40 hours of unpaid community service and is banned from the Dingo Beach Hotel for 12 months. Convictions were recorded.
Originally published as Joseph Robert Mazzaracca faced court after he threatened to drive his car into Dingo Beach pub
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