Lennon Russell Curtis found with meth and crossbow day after assaulting dad

A North Queensland man was blasted for mocking both the prosecution and his own lawyer after he was busted with meth and a crossbow the day after bashing his dad.

A North Queensland man pleaded guilty to assaulting his father and possessing meth as well as weapons like a crossbow when police caught up with him the day after.

A Mackay man shouted he had “Legally Blonde for a lawyer” and lashed out at a prosecutor for “obviously not” understanding life in the bush after he was busted with meth and a crossbow after bashing his dad.

Lennon Russell Curtis interrupted proceedings at Mackay Magistrates Court on Tuesday several times while being sentenced for twelve charges ahead of extradition to Western Australia for unrelated matters.

When magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan asked his lawyer Laura Santin about the extradition and she said the 39 year old had not given her any instruction on the matter, he yelled out that she “didn’t have a clue” and he had “Legally Blonde for a lawyer”.

Police prosecutor Sheena Gravino said Curtis had previously faced court for having a crossbow, to which Curtis again interrupted saying he had grown up in the bush and that “it’s a freaking crossbow, didn’t even have arrows with it” and asked Ms Gravino “do you know the bush, obviously not.”

While Ms Gravino detailed his lengthy criminal history with drugs and weapons, Curtis interjected saying his father was “a child abusing piece of sh-t, gave me drugs since I was a kid”.

“Mr Curtis please don’t speak to any of us in this way ... I will mute you if you just don’t stop, you’re very very rude, just stop,” Ms Hartigan insisted.

Ms Santin was featured in The Daily Mercury for her pink suits and has cited the Reese Witherspoon classic as an inspiration, but Ms Hartigan asked Curtis to “just stay calm”.

Lennon Russell Curtis plead guilty to assaulting his father before being found by police with meth and a crossbow in his ute the next day. Photo: Contributed

The court heard Curtis had assaulted his father in their shared home after an argument about money on October 24, 2023 and was caught by police the next day with 1.407g of meth, drug utensils, a crossbow, and an extendable baton in an unregistered ute with an incorrect number plate.

A neighbour also heard Curtis threatening to kill his father when he returned to the property to collect his belongings, the court heard.

“He’s clearly had an issue with dangerous drugs since 2002 ... (with) charges for drugs, unlawful weapons and tainted property, numerous periods of imprisonment,” Ms Gravino said.

Ms Santin told the court Curtis had not offended since 2017 and so his criminal history was somewhat dated.

She said she had been instructed Curtis was unaware the weapons were illegal because he “got them online” and that they were solely for hunting purposes.

Lennon Russell Curtis plead guilty to assaulting his father before being found by police with meth and a crossbow in his ute the next day. Photo: Contributed

Curtis pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, threatening violence, possessing unlawful weapons, possessing restricted items, possessing dangerous drugs, possessing drug utensils, discharging firearms, driving uninsured, using an incorrect licence plate, and three counts of contravening a police protection notice.

Ms Hartigan said the offending seemed “like he has a drug induced psychosis or schizophrenia”, but accepted Curtis had no formal diagnosis for his mental health.

“There’s a lot of animosity towards your father for how he’s treated you (and) when you fight with your father things get out of control,” she said.

“If you don’t have a mental health issue the drugs are doing something to your brain (but) there are prospects you can rehabilitate yourself.

“(However) I don’t accept that you don’t know crossbows are illegal ... because of the previous catastrophic effects (of earlier charges).”

Curtis was jailed for 18 months immediately suspended for two years and 144 days of pre-sentence custody was declared time served.