Thomas Aaron Quinn: Man who made repeat visits at Southport hotel arrested; multiple weapons found

A man who made repeated visits to a Southport hotel only to return with a spear gun pointed at a security guard has been sentenced after police found a number of weapons in his car. Read what happened here.

Thomas Aaron Quinn pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court to 16 charges. Picture: Facebook

A man who pointed a spear gun at a security guard was busted with multiple weapons after repeat visits to a Southport hotel, a court has heard.

Thomas Aaron Quinn, 38, appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday via video link and pleaded guilty to 16 charges including going armed so as to cause fear, possessing dangerous drugs and stealing.

The court heard Quinn attended the Tryp by Wyndham Southport Gold Coast hotel on multiple occasions in March to obtain a room and had been declined due to insufficient funds.

At 4.30am on March 25, Quinn attended the hotel, approached the locked front glass doors, moved to the side of the building and was met by a security guard.

The court heard Quinn was brandishing a spear gun while talking to the security guard with CCTV showing the gun was pointed in the direction of the security guard.

The next day, at 1.33pm Quinn attended the hotel’s front counter and said he wanted to go to his rooms.

“I’m going to start war,” he said to staff.

“There’s going to be heaps of death.”

He returned again at 2pm in his car, beeping his horn repeatedly.

Staff called police but when officers arrived, they noticed a number of needles and a spear gun in Quinn’s car.

The court heard Quinn pointed a spear gun in the direction of a security guard. Picture: Facebook

A police search of the vehicle found the armed spear gun, two molotov cocktails, multiple knives and an axe, as well as a number of clip seal bags and a two used smoking utensils.

Quinn, who was unlicensed at the time, had been disqualified from driving for two years by a court order.

He was also before the court for driving offences, contravening a domestic violence order and fraud-dishonestly make off without paying.

Quinn’s defence lawyer Ross Oden told the court his client has had issues with methamphetamine and was heavily using the substance at the time of the offences.

He said his client has a gap in his criminal history between 2014 and 2023 and the break in offending ended after Quinn survived a murder attempted in northern NSW after being attacked with an axe and a gun.

The court heard Quinn’s assailant has never been found by police and Quinn suffered head and arm injuries.

Mr Oden said Quinn suffered from PTSD and was in a panicked mode while suffering from methamphetamine psychosis at the time of the offences.

He said Quinn’s physical, mental and social conditions all came together to cause him to do what he did.

The court heard Quinn had been living out of his car at the time and after people attempted to steal his vehicle and belongings, he thought he might be safe if he could get into a hotel.

Mr Oden said once released from custody, Quinn plans to live with a family member, hopes to get his NDIS payment back in place and wants to join the workforce.

Magistrate Veena Goverdhan noted the last time Quinn was released from custody, he didn’t have family support.

“This time you do,” she said.

“I know this sounds obvious what I’m about to say but … be grateful for that support.”

She said now was perhaps a good time for Quinn to become a role model to his child.

Quinn was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months with the 107 days he has spent in pre-sentence custody taken into account.

He was fined $200 for his driving offences and disqualified from holding a licence for two years.

Originally published as Thomas Aaron Quinn: Man who made repeat visits at Southport hotel arrested; multiple weapons found