Kerry-Jane Dent: Woman in court for violent Logan Village assault
A “grossly intoxicated” woman launched a violent 4am assault against her Logan neighbour, who she suspected of calling the cops about excessive noise, after grabbing her through a gate.
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A “grossly intoxicated” Logan disability support worker launched a violent 4am assault against her neighbour, grabbing the victim through a gate and pulling “hair from her skull”, after she accused the woman of calling police with a noise complaint.
Kerry-Jane Dent, 47, who now lives at Redbank Plains, pleaded guilty to trespass and assault occasioning bodily harm in company following the March 8 incident at Logan Village.
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Beenleigh Magistrates Court today heard there had been longstanding animosity between Dent and one of her neighbours on semirural Virginia Way.
At 2.30am, police attended a noise complaint at Dent’s property following reports of a man and woman screaming at each other.
Dent was “grossly intoxicated” and “barely able to converse”, the court heard, but she told police, “That whore next door made the complaint, I’m going to smash her”.
Less than two hours later, at 4am, she struck.
Dent’s neighbour was woken by noise outside her property and when she went to investigate, she discovered Dent and another person on her property.
The victim approached her front gate to a distance of about 1m and told Dent and the other person repeatedly to leave her property.
However, Dent reached through the gate and pulled her forward into the grate before pushing her into the ground, slamming her neck in the process, and grabbing handfuls of hair so violently the strands were “pulled from the victim’s skull”.
Dent’s daughter had arrived from next door by this stage and began pleading with her mother to please leave.
The victim’s son also joined the fray and pushed Dent away from the gate and she fell backwards.
The other person began shaking the gate “violently” and “screaming profanities” but the drunken pair were eventually coaxed away by Dent’s daughter.
Dent, a mother of four, had no criminal history and lost her job as a result of the offending, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Katherine Hanson told the court “both parties were left battered and bruised” following the incident.
“There was summary justice,” she said.
Ms Hanson said Dent had hosted a family gathering at her Virginia Way property on the night in question and “would not have acted as she did” were it not for the influence of alcohol.
“She hasn’t drunk since the incident,” Ms Hanson said.
Magistrate Clare Kelly described it as “very ugly”, especially as children of both the defendant and victim became involved.
“The distress would have been significant,” she said.
Dent pleaded guilty to the two charges.
She was placed on a nine-month probation order. No convictions were recorded.
The person with her was issued an on-the-spot fine for trespassing.