Jail sentence for mates’ pub feud over ex

Text messages sent to his partner prompted a Sunshine Coast pub-goer to punch his mate in the head.

Luke Anthony Kreis received a suspended jail term for punching his mate at the Beerwah Hotel.

Text messages sent to his partner prompted a pub-goer to punch his mate in the head.

Maroochydore District Court heard Luke Anthony Kreis's "friend" fell to the ground and later suffered memory loss and headaches after he was punched outside the Beerwah Hotel on September 21, 2018.

He'd been invited to the pub by Kreis, 32, who had an ulterior motive to getting a drink with his mate, as indicated by text messages.

Crown prosecutor Stipe Drinovac said the friend arrived at the pub at 6pm when Kreis approached him near his car.

"Are you still talking to Nellie?" Kreis asked his friend who had previously dated the same woman as him.

The court heard the victim replied "yeah, I am" before Kreis punched him behind the left ear, causing him to fall.

"He stood back up and the defendant yelled at him in an aggressive manner," Mr Drinovac said.

"The complainant tried to keep the defendant from coming near him.

" (Kreis) swung a couple of punches at the complainant, causing the complainant to fall to the ground again."

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The court heard the second round of punches didn't land.

Paramedics were called to the pub and the victim was taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital where he stayed overnight.

He reported immediate memory loss and couldn't remember his address, phone number or how to get into his locked phone.

"The complainant had a very sore left jaw and found it very hard to chew," Mr Drinovac said.

He also had a grazed upper lip and left knee, suffered headaches and struggled to remember things.

CCTV footage of the event was played to the court on Monday when Kreis pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm.

The court heard he was born and raised in Gayndah where he faced court in 2009 for being drunk and disorderly in a licensed premises.

"That related to attempting to fight a patron at the Burnett Hotel," Mr Drinovac said.

He also had an offence on his history of public nuisance for running down the main street of Hervey Bay while naked.

Defence barrister Nathan Turner said his client was shocked to learn the victim of his assault had suffered a stroke before the pub incident.

"He did say that made him feel even more terrible than he currently feels because if he had have known that he would never have conducted himself in that way," Mr Turner said.

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He said Kreis drank three beers before his mate arrived at the pub.

"Shortly before the assault, the defendant had been advised by his de facto partner of five years that the complainant had been contacting her," Mr Turner said.

"It was only messaging or phone calls, there wasn't any physical contact, and the defendant at the time had been going through a rough patch with her.

"In hindsight he recognises that they were in the midst of a break-up but at the time he was trying to save the relationship."

Mr Turner said Kreis wanted to confront his mate, rather than assault him, but he "lost control in the moment".

He tendered five references to the court which said the assault was out of character for Kreis who worked in quality assurance for a road construction company.

Judge Glen Cash considered Kreis hadn't caused his victim a permanent injury, but said that could have been the outcome.

Kreis was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended immediately for 12 months.

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