Leslie Oliviero Toffetti in court for damaging Whitsunday watch house cell with faeces, vomit

A watch-house cell had to be professionally biohazard cleaned at significant cost after an ‘appalling’ display from a father of eight who is normally a law-abiding citizen.

A Mackay grandfather has claimed to have no memory of smearing his own faeces on the walls of a watch-house cell after a night of drinking games.

Leslie Oliviero Toffetti, 55, faced Proserpine Magistrates Court this week on a charge of wilful damage resulting from a brief stay at the Whitsunday watch house in December 2021 in which he deliberately covered the walls, floor and surveillance camera with his own faeces and vomit.

The court heard police placed Toffetti in the Cannonvale cell about 1am on December 11, and by 5am he had induced himself to vomit, thrown vomit at the camera and walls, defecated onto the floor, and smeared faeces onto a wall and cell door.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors said Toffetti also screamed and headbutted walls during his time in the cell.

Sergeant Myors said the cost to have the cell “professionally biohazard cleaned” in the aftermath was $1006.50 and police were seeking restitution.

Toffetti pleaded guilty as charged.

Defence lawyer Peta Vernon told the court her client had become extremely intoxicated in the lead up to the offence, starting his night in Airlie Beach drinking his usual Jim Beam and Coke, and then agreeing to play a drinking game involving vodka “and a lot of it”.

Leslie Oliviero Toffetti pleaded guilty to wilful damage. Picture: Facebook

Ms Vernon tendered a letter from Toffetti’s employer that described him as being the kind of man who “would give you the shirt off his back”, and assured the court he was “disgusted with himself” for his “appalling” behaviour.

“He woke up in the morning in a cell covered in his own waste, wondering what happened,” Ms Vernon said.

“He’s been in the horrors ever since.”

With tears streaming down his face, Toffetti told the court he had not had a drink since the date of the offence.

When Magistrate James Morton questioned how a man of Toffetti’s age, who had “mostly” led a law-abiding life, could behave in such a manner, the boilermaker supervisor and father of eight adult children replied: “I can’t remember.”

“You’re 55 years of age playing drinking games – don’t you think you should be past that?” Mr Morton said.

“At your age, you should be just enjoying a drink, then crawling into the haystack after that.

“You’re sculling Jim Beam and vodka – that’s what the young people do, don’t you think?

“That should be out of your system by now – I shouldn’t have to tell you this.”

Mr Morton sentenced Toffetti to pay an $800 fine plus $1006 restitution to the police and told him to “have a little bit more maturity and common sense” if he ever decided to drink again.

“Alcohol does stupid things to the best of people,” Mr Morton said.

A conviction was not recorded.