Parole hearings taking five to six months to reach the board

Magistrate said crime “needs a sentence which deters you and others” from reoffending.

Police outside Silly Solly's in East St, Rockhampton. Picture: Melanie Plane

Magistrate Jason Schubert took several minutes reading through 26-year-old Dylan Elliott's 10-page history before determining he would not be eligible to apply for parole until June 17 this year.

Elliott was already on parole when, in March 2020, he was among two people arrested following an assault inside the Silly Solly's shop on East Street, Rockhampton.

Two other alleged attackers fled the scene.

At that time, Elliott was charged with three counts of serious assault police officer, two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of enter premises with intent.

On Tuesday, he also faced numerous traffic charges related to driving an unregistered vehicle, driving over the general blood alcohol limit, and 'making unnecessary noise/smoke'.

Mr Schubert said Elliott had an "appalling history" of offending, and he was disappointed his terms in prison didn't have a deterrent effect.

"You get out then you go straight back and commit more," he said.

Schubert's previous charges ranged from an offence against a 17-year-old girl back in 2012, to a similar assault occasioning bodily harm in 2017.

Inside the Capricornia Correctional Centre, he pushed over another inmate who had a broken leg, and punched him multiple times.

The court heard that, on the latest occasion, Elliott and his alleged co-offenders launched repeated "cowardly" attacks on a 15-year-old boy and his father on East Street.

After his alleged co-offender struck the man with a baseball bat, Elliott reportedly tackled him and struck him with a closed fist.

Both victims were admitted to hospital, one of them requiring both internal and external stitches to a serious head wound.

Elliott then punched a police officer while "thrashing about" trying to avoid arrest.

Elliott's lawyer said his client had four to five days week work as a roofer lined up upon his parole.

Mr Schubert said he was "not happy" with the minimum 12 months parole eligibility date, and that Elliott's latest crime deserved a sentence which would prove a deterrent to him and others.

The court heard that, in the "current situation", the assessment of parole applications was taking five to six months to come before the board.

Elliott, who pleaded guilty, received a number of smaller sentences (one to six months apiece) for the traffic offences, and 12 months each for the assault charges arising from the Silly Solly's attack.