Reece Rushton pleads guilty to public nuisance against mechanics at Nambour

Two innocent mechanics have been subjected to violent remarks after a former removalist bizarrely claimed he had been slighted.

Reece Rushton faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court by video from jail. Picture: Patrick Woods

A Maroochydore man will be released from jail after threatening to stab a random mechanic after claiming he had been “disrespected”.

Maroochydore Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday of Reece Rushton’s bizarre threat to a worker at Quik Speed Automotive in Nambour on December 6 last year.

Police prosecutor Nick Nitschke told the court Rushton approached the staff member at the hinterland mechanic about 11am and spoke to him for an unknown reason until he said words to the effect of “I have a knife I’ll stab you c---”.

The business owner came out to assist his employee and told Rushton to leave however Sergeant Nitschke said when the 22-year-old left he disturbingly said “we shoot the big ones”.

Reece Rushton appeared via video link on March 25, 2024. Photo: social media

Before leaving he pointed at one of the men with his left hand while having an unknown object in other hand, which they believed could have been a knife or a stick but were uncertain.

Police were called and found Rushton, a transient drug user, nearby where he told police the mechanic had “disrespected him” but could not explain why, among other incoherent statements.

He was granted bail on a public nuisance charge however failed to appear in court on January 8 this year.

He was arrested the following day with a kitchen knife in his backpack and spent 119 days in custody until his appearance in court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to public nuisance, possessing a knife and failing to appear in court.

The public nuisance occurred in the Nambour area. Picture: Che Chapman

Defence solicitor Katie Paterson said Rushton, who was on parole at the time, had been camping in the Nambour and Woodridge areas while looking after his homeless mother before his arrest.

Ms Paterson said the 22-year-old was on drugs at the time and stated during the public nuisance he did not possess a knife but rather a stick he intimated was a weapon.

The knife he was eventually found with in January was for food purposes and for a “protective factor”, she told the court.

The court heard the Texas-born man had a prejudicial upbringing but had worked previously as a removalist in Gladstone before he moved to the Sunshine Coast. Upon his release the young father wanted to find his mother again and obtain housing.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan sentenced Rushton to five months’ jail and immediately released him to parole.