Mitchell Robert Taylor: Uber driver bloodied and broken after unprovoked, meth-fuelled attack

‘I’ll f**k you up, dogs’: 21-year-old Logan man sentenced to prison for breaking drivers’ nose, then spitting on police.

A young Logan man has been jailed for viciously attacking an Uber driver, leaving his nose bloodied, broken and requiring surgery.

Mitchell Robert Taylor, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of serious assault of a police officer at the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The court heard Taylor was on the phone, waiting by the kerb for the Uber to drop his girlfriend at his Logan home on July 19, 2020.

As his girlfriend left the car, Taylor mistakenly thought he overheard the driver say something offensive to her.

The Uber driver told the court via a victim impact statement that he struggled psychologically following the attack.

Fuelled by a cocktail of alcoholic drinks and prescription pain medication, Taylor took a swing at the driver, knocking him square on the nose and causing him to bleed profusely.

The police prosecutor said Taylor assaulted the victim while he was in a vulnerable position and unable to easily escape.

In a victim impact statement tendered to the court, the driver said he required surgery to realign his nose, which had been fractured, and had frequent nightmares of Taylor attacking him with knuckle dusters.

The driver estimated the total cost of damages amounted to well over $4000 and provided medical receipts for $2600 worth of treatment.

Solicitor Kylie Drage of Kanoon Lawyers told the court Taylor became addicted to ice by the age of 16, but got clean off the drug during a prior stint in custody.

The punch broke the Uber driver’s nose, requiring surgery.

Due to a personal tragedy however, Taylor resorted to alcohol as a coping mechanism and his drinking quickly spiralled out of control.

By January, 2021, Taylor was drinking to excess every day and that, in combination with prescribed painkillers, led to another violent incident - This time, with police officers.

On January 9 Taylor was picked up by police in the Brisbane CBD and became aggressive when placed in the police car.

The court heard Taylor spat at the officers and onto the car, yelling threats such as, “I’ll f--k you up, dogs”.

Police were particularly concerned by the spitting, given the COVID situation in Brisbane at the time, and the fact the spit contained traces of Taylor’s blood.

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Taylor, who was subject to parole at the time, was taken into custody where he has remained for the past 89 days.

He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for the assault occasioning bodily harm and 12 months imprisonment for the serious assault of a police officer, to be served concurrently.

He was ordered to pay $2600 in restitution and will be eligible for parole today, however due to a notable backlog with the parole office it is unlikely he will walk free for several months.