Lukas Jeffrey Peebles, 37, bashes man with stick for allegedly sleeping with his partner

A late night Macleay Island drug deal turned bloody when a concreter bashed a man in fit of jealous rage.

A Macleay Island concreter has added to his history of serial violent offending by severely bashing a man for allegedly sleeping with his partner.

Appearing at Cleveland Magistrates Court via video link on Thursday, Lukas Jeffrey Peebles, 37, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, stealing and unlawfully possessing suspected stolen items.

The court heard Peebles had gone to a drug deal around 11.15pm on October 24 last year on Macleay Island when his victim unexpectedly attended before a planned crabbing session.

The concreter asked the man, “have you been hiding from me c**t?” before letting loose.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Duncan Blackburn said Peebles punched the man numerous times in the face, causing him to fall out of his boat.

He followed him down, picked up a stick and repeatedly bashed the man with it to the back of the head, neck and back while he tried to flee.

Images were tendered to the court showing the victim’s injuries.

The court heard Lukas Jeffrey Peebles, 37, had a history of serial violent offending. Picture: Facebook.

They included vomiting blood, a fracture to his right arm, blurry vision and bruising.

Peebles could have faced more serious charges, according to police, who said he had demanded an associate hand over his knife during the attack, but the man refused it.

The offending was aggravated for occurring on a probation and suspended jail sentence for similar offending.

The court heard Peebles was in August – only two months before the attack – sentenced for a like offence.

And in 2019 he had punched a pub patron to the ground and continued to punch him repeatedly in an unprovoked attack for which he served prison time.

Senior Constable Blackburn said the man had a longstanding issue with aggression, continued to place the community at harm and required a strong deterrent.

Police urged an 18-month to two-year prison sentence.

Defence solicitor Brittany White acknowledged her client’s seven-page criminal record and explained the attack was unplanned.

Peebles had been set off when he saw the man for the first time after he had allegedly slept with his then partner and exposed one of his three children to an exposed needle.

Ms White further noted Peebles had lost the permanent use of one finger after he was stabbed by his victim with a screwdriver during the attack.

The court heard the defendant was diagnosed with PTSD from childhood physical abuse and had spent 105 days in pre-sentence custody.

Magistrate Deborah Vasta denounced the man’s serial violent offending in the community.

“You just keep coming back to court for violence,” Ms Vasta said.

Peebles was granted immediate parole release and sentenced to 19 months’ prison wholly suspended over 18 months.

He was further placed on a non-contact order with his victim for two years.