Top 17 times Mackay Whitsundays magistrates let offenders have it
From dog bashers to drug addicts to teen car thieves, Mackay and Whitsundays magistrates don’t hold back when holding local criminals to account. Here’s some of the tough love they’ve handed down
Police & Courts
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‘You are not welcome in Mackay’: Magistrate to teen car thief
A magistrate said he would like to put a young car thief in “a jumpsuit and shackles” and have her walked onto her flight to Brisbane after telling the teenager she is “not welcome” in Mackay.
A court heard Alyssa Maree Stockton was to be released from Mackay watch-house into her solicitor’s custody to be put straight onto her flight south where she will attend a rehabilitation clinic.
“I’ve relieved the city of Mackay of your criminal activity,” Magistrate James Morton said.
She missed a previous flight because she had a “bad shot” of ice after she was mistakenly released from custody and ended up back on the streets before she was rearrested and her bail rejected.
Despite only turning 18 in May 2021, Stockton pleaded guilty to 14 offences including two stolen cars committed between June and August 2021. She was placed on 18 months probation, ordered to partake in monthly drug tests and convictions were not recorded.
‘Drug addicted mug’: Magistrate rips into teen car thief
A magistrate has ripped into a teen at the wheel of a stolen car saga between Mackay and Collinsville, labelling the young thief as a “drug addicted mug”.
Kristopher Reece John Potter took two mates on a joy ride in a stolen Peugeot, taken overnight on July 9-10 in Andergrove, when the trio pinched a second car that had been left running and with the keys in the ignition outside a Stanley St store at Collinsville.
Both vehicles were dumped when they ran out of fuel and the trio were arrested.
Potter, 19, pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrates Court to 49 charges committed between April 6 and July 12, 2021 in Mackay, Collinsville and Bowen.
He was also placed on a nine-month intensive correction order and he was banned from having a licence for four years and nine months. Convictions were recorded.
Dog basher should be made to shovel animal sh*t: Magistrate
A magistrate has indicated a former pet store worker should be made to shovel animal faeces after he unleashed a “disgusting” attack on a terrified, cowering dog.
Tyler Jay Halliday had Sprocket backed into a corner of a “punishment” pen and threatened the scared dog with his fist before kicking and spitting at the animal at Blacks Beach.
Why? Because Sprocket, who belonged to his former girlfriend, had dug a hole.
Before this shocking incident, the 22 year old had worked for Petbarn Mackay as a sales assistant.
When Magistrate James Morton asked why his employment ended after 10 months, Halliday said, “It’s quite obvious that I’m not suitable for a job with animals.”
Halliday pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrates Court to breaching his duty of care, which occurred on April 17, 2020. He was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community service, banned from owning any animal for five years and must pay $1767.95 in costs. Convictions were not recorded.
‘Who the hell cares’: Magistrate slams pair over reason for pub assault
A magistrate ripped into two mates for attacking a 60-year-old man at a pub north of Mackay as he dealt out matching jail terms to the pair.
Jason James Filtness and Mark Anthony Fricke had stopped in for a drink at the Kuttabul Hotel and took exception to how another patron was acting.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard the victim had been talking to a waitress about fishing and was speaking very fast, laughing and allegedly acting in a “manic” manner.
Acting Magistrate Athol Kennedy, in sentencing the two men, asked them, “What is that to you? You’re in a pub.”
The court heard Filtness, 52, and Fricke, 46, both left and got in a vehicle, but got out of the car when the victim allegedly said “walk away fat boy”. They both pleaded guilty to serious assault of a person over 60.
Both men were jailed for six months, wholly suspended, banned from the Kuttabul Hotel for 12 months and must pay $800 compensation. A conviction was recorded.
‘Unmotherly’: Woman slammed for being ‘too busy on meth’
A Mackay woman has been called “unmotherly” for prioritising drugs over her children.
Two months after mum of two Danni Maree Brownlow was convicted of drug offending in March 2020 she was back abusing illicit substances racking up 17 charges over 10 months.
She told Mackay Magistrates Court her drug of choice was ice, which she smoked three to four times a day when she was using drugs. Brownlow said she was not using anymore.
“This is totally unacceptable, and I feel sorry for your children” Magistrates James Morton said.
“I feel happy that they’re not in your care to suck up your dysfunction and poor conduct.”
The 28 year old pleaded guilty to all charges which included five counts each of possessing dangerous drugs and possessing drug utensils. She was placed on 12 months probation, fined $250 and convictions were recorded.
‘You continually put lives at risk’: Mine worker’s airport road rage
The lapse in an indicator signal was enough to push a Mackay mine worker into a bout of road rage, ending in a new charge to his two-page list of driving offences.
The court heard Carl Joseph Savy became enraged in the parking area of a Mackay Airport when there was an altercation with another vehicle.
Prosecutor Chelsea Pearson said the driver of the car heard Savy yell “where is your f---ing indicator?”.
Savy then reached into the man’s car and “broke the indicator stick”.
Savy pleaded guilty to wilful damage in Mackay Magistrates Court on September 9. He was fined $1200 and ordered to pay $156.95 restitution. A conviction was recorded.
‘He’s been caught with his pants down’: Backpacker worker filmed naked woman in shower
A former Whitsunday backpackers’ hostel employee has been caught secretly filming a woman taking a shower then trying to talk her out of reporting him to police.
Isaac James Element used his smartphone to film a female colleague as she undressed, showered and dried herself off in a communal bathroom at an Airlie Beach hostel on a Thursday afternoon in July, rushing to delete multiple videos when the horrified woman confronted him about it.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard Element positioned his phone in some louvres above the locked bathroom door to film the woman before she looked up and realised what was happening and yelled out, “What are you doing?”
He pleaded guilty to observations of recordings in breach of privacy (genital or anal region), and other charges. He was placed on a $500 good behaviour bond for 12 months, with no conviction recorded.
‘Dog act’: Why two men have been banned from Airlie Beach
Two Whitsunday men bashed an acquaintance unconscious over a broken mobile phone then left the scene and continued their night out drinking.
Moroni Ngaitahu Mac-Ray Tetai and Jireh Te Onewa Taiaroa stopped traffic in Airlie Beach to punch a man travelling in a taxi until he passed out, then hung around at a nearby bar until police caught up with them.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard the two men “chased [the victim] down” after he allegedly damaged Tetai’s mobile phone at Hush Bar in the early hours of the morning on June 23.
The two offenders each pleaded guilty to one count of being a public nuisance.
Each man was fined $300, and ordered to pay $250 compensation to the victim.
Magistrate: ‘Don’t call me ‘mate’. I wouldn’t have a mate like you’
A Whitsunday man has narrowly avoided jail after swearing at a magistrate while attempting to explain the drug use that landed him in court.
Oscar Kinsey, 29, clashed with Magistrate James Morton at Proserpine as he gave his take on drug driving, driving under the influence, failure to properly dispose of a needle and syringe, and possess dangerous drugs offences which occurred in Airlie Beach, Cannonvale and Jubilee Pocket between April 30 and May 15.
“I’d just broken up with my partner,” Kinsey began, reiterating comments from solicitor Elizabeth Smith who earlier stated Kinsey was a former addict who had been clean for four years but had “fallen off the wagon quite hard” after splitting with the mother of his one-year-old daughter.
“Who cares?” was the response from Mr Morton leading to a verbal volley between the pair.
Kinsey pleaded guilty in Proserpine Magistrates Court to the charges, was ordered to pay $1900 in fines and disqualified from driving for 14 months. Convictions were recorded.
Magistrate James Morton: ‘Every effort would have been, when the pipe gets handed to you, you say no’
A Bowen magistrate refused to back down on a hefty sentence for a repeat drug offender despite the man’s attempts to argue he had rehabilitated himself.
Andrew James Beck told Bowen Magistrates Court he had “gone to great lengths” to curb his drug use after previous convictions for offences including producing and possessing dangerous drugs, and that a May 2021 drug-driving offence was the result of a “one-off opportunity” he “greatly regrets”.
“I’ve made every effort, I’m actually proud of my efforts,” he said.
The court heard police intercepted Beck’s LandCruiser on Soldiers Rd, Bowen about 6pm on Thursday, May 20 after the 50 year old had smoked ice at a party some days prior.
Pleading guilty to one charge of driving while a relevant drug is present in blood or saliva while the holder of a probationary MR licence, Beck told the court: “It’s the first time I’ve taken it (methamphetamine) and I’ve been stung for it.”
Magistrate James Morton said: “‘Every effort’ would have been, when the pipe gets handed to you, you say ‘No, I don’t want that’, especially at your age. You put the pipe in your mouth and smoked it. That’s a decision you made.”
Beck was jailed for four months with immediate parole and disqualified for six months. A conviction was recorded
‘That’s like putting one of your kids out in the yard and not feeding it’
Harrowing images capture the “appalling” condition of a family pet prompting a magistrate to hand the Mackay couple responsible the maximum ban for owning any animal.
The Great Dane cross – named Munster – was so skinny when the RSPCA seized him that his spine and ribs were visibly poking through his skin.
Magistrate James Morton said the North Mackay pair – Matthew Thomas Wellington and Theresa Louise Delaney – had failed “dismally” in their care.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard Wellington was Munster’s owner, but his fiancee Delaney was also responsible for the dog.
Wellington said he got Munster for free when he was six weeks old from a place at North Mackay in August 2019 that he said, “wasn’t very healthy”.
“And you cast another miserable environment on him,” Mr Morton said, as he told the 25 year old he should be ashamed of himself and made the couple look at the “appalling” images of Munster.
Both pleaded guilty breaching duty of care in that they failed to get appropriate treatment for Munster. They were each fined $2000, ordered to pay $964.45 in costs and banned from owning any animal for five years. Convictions were not recorded.
‘Your offending was disgusting’: Sneaky upskirter slapped with unusual order prohibiting lies
An upskirt predator has court orders not to lie after he was busted deliberately misleading his psychologist.
Spencer Michael James Radford was spotted following a woman through Caneland Central before deliberately bumping into her and filming up her dress on December 22, 2020.
The 31-year-old father of two hid from media using a hoodie and briefcase as he left Mackay Magistrates Court where he was labelled “disgusting” for his shameful behaviour.
He previously pleaded guilty to a breach of privacy earlier this month but the case was adjourned until Thursday for sentence.
Mackay Magistrates Court previously heard Radford had seen a psychologist three times and told the practitioner the video, which was immediately deleted, was not for sexual gratification.
The court heard however there was a divergence between what he told the psychologist and what he told the police on the day.
“Suddenly a married man with two kids, just before his second child was born, engages in this sort of behaviour,” Magistrate Damien Dwyer.
He was placed on probation and a conviction was not recorded.
‘You are a true public nuisance’: Drunk pest told jail or 240 hours community service
A Mackay magistrate told a serial drunken pest he had two options – either complete the maximum number of community service hours or receive a jail term.
The 23 year old, who has since moved to Western Australia, had been highly intoxicated at his own going away party when he committed his seventh public nuisance offence in five years.
Brodie Jordan Arnold, through his solicitor, had pushed for the mandatory minimum penalty of 40 hours community service allowing him to soon return to the west coast, but Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said, “absolutely no way”.
He pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrates Court to being a public nuisance, was ordered to complete 240 hours community service and a conviction was recorded.
‘Absolute disgrace’: Mackay speedster slammed in court
A magistrate has unleashed his disgust at a prolific speedster’s behaviour after the 39 year old tried to excuse his latest offence.
Prosecutor Harry Coburn said police found Levi James Jones driving without a licence along Mackay Habana Rd in Richmond on June 11.
Jones, of Bakers Creek, told Mackay Magistrates Court he was unaware his licence was disqualified from an accumulation of demerit points but Magistrate Damien Dwyer interjected.
“I don’t accept that for a moment,” Mr Dwyer said.
“From November 2017, that’s three-and-a-half years, you have lost 37 points.”
He pleaded guilty to the charge, was fined $800, disqualified from driving for six months and a conviction was recorded.
‘It was a catfight in a pub over a bloke’: Nightclub catfight ends in hefty dentist bill
A catfight between two drunk women over a bloke lasted less than a minute, but the scars of that night carried over to the courtroom.
Georgie Annmarie Bojack faced Mackay Magistrates Court on Thursday over the CBD nightclub assault as while her victim watched on from the gallery.
CCTV footage captured the victim confronting Bojack inside The Gallery Lounge and Bar on December 6, 2021 before both women wound up on the ground.
The court heard Bojack then opportunistically grabbed a bar stool and swung it with “excessive force” at the woman‘s mouth.
“Two drunken women couldn’t control themselves … (Bojack) just took it too far … (she will) pay for that,” Magistrate Damien Dwyer said.
Bojack pleading guilty to the assault. She was ordered to complete 110 hours unpaid community service and pay $5010 compensation. A conviction was not recorded.
‘Your riding was arrogant’: Rider jailed over serious crash on rural road
A motorcyclist has been blasted as “arrogant” after he rode dangerously while more than three times the limit and slammed into a turning car on the way home from the pub.
Magistrate Damien Dwyer dealt a scathing review of the 59 year old‘s conduct on August 21, 2020, which amounted to his ninth drink-driving incident.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard Desmond Michael O‘Shea had been drinking at the General Gordon Hotel where, before he left, he put an enhancer into his beer with the intention it would hit him once he arrived home.
Now O‘Shea will spend time behind bars in a bid to show a “strong deterrence” to him and the community.
O‘Shea pleaded guilty to dangerous driving while adversely affected and was jailed for six months to be suspended after serving one month. He was also disqualified from driving for two years. A conviction was recorded.
‘Childish rubbish’: Father’s 84 robo-calls to harass former lover
A phone call answered inside a police station was a man’s downfall, having resorted to “pest” measures to try and rekindle a relationship.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard on Thursday a domestic violence protection order was made against the Andergrove father-of-three on January 28 only to be breached months later.
Police prosecutor Robert Beamish said his former partner went to the Mackay Northern Beaches Police Station on March 14 to report a private phone number that was relentlessly calling her over a two-day period.
“She believed (her ex) was the one making those calls,” Mr Beamish said.
Magistrate Damien Dwyer told the man his actions were “childish rubbish” and he was “skating on thin ice”.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to breaching a domestic violence order. He was fined $1750 and released from custody. Convictions were recorded.
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