Named: Stanthorpe residents sentenced in court for drunk and disorderly offending

A Stanthorpe man whose drunken outburst at a bottleshop escalated into a physical conflict with a staff member to a teenager who punched a hole in a pub wall, these were the residents sentenced in court for alcohol-fuelled offending. FULL LIST:

A Stanthorpe man who got into a violent, alcohol-fuelled altercation when told to leave a bottle shop he was already banned from was just one of the residents recently sentenced in court for drunk and disorderly offending.

Police were called to the Liquor Legends store in Railway St just after 4pm on February 17, where they found a grossly intoxicated Dennis William Wright with an injury to the left side of his head.

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court was told the 44-year-old was clearly affected by alcohol when he walked into the drive-through bottle shop while yelling and swearing, and then refused to leave when asked to do so by staff.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said the outburst escalated into a brief physical altercation between Wright and a male Liquor Legends employee, who was then finally able to report the incident.

Wright appeared in court with a lengthy criminal history largely consisting of drug- and alcohol-related offending, and was under both probation and parole orders at the time of this latest run-in with the law.

Duty lawyer Clare Hine said the man had a strong work history and previously owned a demolition business, but the breakdown of a long-term relationship and moving back to Stanthorpe to care for his elderly grandparents had seen him spiral into substance abuse.

“He tells me that he’s been drinking alcohol since he was 17, he does drink every day, and he accepts that he is an alcoholic,” Ms Hine said.

“On this occasion he’d gone into town to have a few beers and was waiting for a lift, but he’d obviously had more than a few beers and wandered into the drive-through he’s banned from, and there was an altercation.”

Wright pleaded guilty to one count each of creating a disturbance in a licensed premises and failing to leave a licensed premises.

He was fined $800 and a conviction was recorded.

These were the other Stanthorpe residents sentenced this week for drunk and disorderly offending:

NO CONVICTION RECORDED

A young Stanthorpe woman who took out her frustration at misplacing her mobile phone on a pub wall has faced court.

Shakira Kim Friend was at the Hotel Stanthorpe with friends at about 12.30am on March 20 when she realised she had lost her phone, and went to a staff member to ask whether anything had been handed in.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said it was while the 19-year-old was making enquiries that she suddenly lost her temper and punched a hole in the wall next to the main bar.

The Stanthorpe court heard Friend was still highly intoxicated by the time police arrived and could not be interviewed at the scene.

Duty lawyer Clare Hine said her client was extremely remorseful and embarrassed by her conduct, especially when it was later revealed that her boyfriend had simply been looking after her phone on her behalf.

Ms Hine said Friend had already arranged to pay for the repairs and was supported by her mother in the courtroom.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess credited Friend for her efforts to make amends with the pub’s owners, but urged her to take it as a warning of the potential consequences of a big night out.

“You ought to be embarrassed, you ought to be sorry, and you ought to pay for the damage, and it appears you are doing all of those things,” she said.

Friend pleaded guilty to one count of wilful damage. She was fined $400 and no conviction was recorded.

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Getting roped into a mate’s ongoing conflict with another man on a night out at the pub proved a costly decision for Samuel Joseph Eathorne.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa told the Stanthorpe court that Eathorne was at the Hotel Stanthorpe with a friend at about 12.50am on March 6 when the other man started an argument with a third person in the pokies area.

“Eathorne then pokes (the victim) in the chest in what appears to be a heated exchange between the three of them,” he said.

He said the altercation escalated to physical blows between Eathorne’s friend and the victim before the Stanthorpe man and his friend were removed from the pub by security.

“ (Eathrone) was engaged in that behaviour, but it doesn’t indicate that he’s struck anyone, hence the charge,” Sergeant de Lissa said.

The self-represented truck driver acknowledged “it was a silly thing to do” and blamed a few too many drinks for his conduct that night.

The 37-year-old’s excuse was not accepted by magistrate Virginia Sturgess, who acknowledged Eathorne was the less violent of two offenders but reminded him that members of the community have a right to enjoy a public place without disorderly or alcohol-fuelled outbursts.

“You are old enough to know better, and drinking is not an excuse,” Ms Sturgess said.

“You had too much to drink, that’s a choice you made, and it’s no excuse to behave badly.”

Eathorne pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance within a licensed premises.

He was fined $500 and no conviction was recorded.