Nanango man in court for affray, public nuisance

A Qld father who claimed his six-year-old child had been held up at gunpoint by a teenager from a rival group in a country town has fronted court after trying to incite a fight between the two groups.

A Nanango man tried to incite a brawl between two groups of children, a court heard.

A Queensland father who claimed his six-year-old child had been held up at gunpoint by a teenager from the same town has fronted court after trying to incite a brawl between two groups of children in a local park.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty in Nanango court on Monday to one charge of causing an affray, two counts of public nuisance and one count of consuming liquor on a road.

The court heard on Saturday, November 11 at 12.47pm, police received two calls from members of the public about an incident on the corner of Railway Lane and Drayton Street beside Pioneer Park in Nanango.

One of the witnesses described the man, “egging” his children on to fight another group of children, the court heard.

“The witness stated … the defendant was instructing his children to physically fight another child,” the police prosecutor said.

When police arrived they saw two groups of people yelling at each other, she said.

Police saw the man yelling and threatening one group of children and warned him to stop, but he did not, the court heard.

“The defendant was warned about his behaviour and advised that he may be arrested. The defendant continued to yell abuse … and advanced towards them,” the prosecutor said.

A Nanango man tried to incite a brawl between two groups of children, a court heard.

The police intervened and pulled the man away from the children.

Later that day, at 4.49pm in Nanango, police were called to an incident in Gold Street.

When they arrived the caller told them he heard the man threatening children outside of his house.

When the witness told the man to leave the children alone, he started a fight with the witness “with punches thrown by both parties,” the court heard.

Police found him down the road with two cans of alcohol.

The mans solicitor told the court the issues had been going on for some time.

“Two weeks prior to this his six-year-old child was taken away by one of the 14-year-old children involved in this other group … and held at gunpoint,” she said.

The solicitor said her client believed the mother of the 14-year-old was going to be at the park “so they could discuss this issue in relation to the gun”.

At some point he managed to get hold of the gun and handed it into police, the court was told.

“He accepts perhaps he should have done that first,” the solicitor said.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair fined the man $500 for all the offences.

After leaving the courtroom, the man made the comment, “one fine for the whole lot”.