Petrus Johannes Jacobs found not guilty of assault at Byron Bay after incident with pub bouncer
An alleged cat and mouse exchange between a cyclist and a bouncer outside a Byron Bay pub ended with the rider pinned to the ground in a headlock while bystanders chanted “George Floyd”. See how the court unfolded the matter.
Byron Shire
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An alleged cat and mouse exchange between a cyclist and a bouncer outside a Byron Bay pub ended with the rider pinned to the ground in a headlock while bystanders chanted “George Floyd”.
Labourer Petrus Johannes Jacobs, 39, of Federal, pleaded not guilty to common assault and an intimidation charge when he appeared at Byron Bay Local Court.
CCTV footage was played in court showing the entrance of the Beach Hotel and Jonson Street, where Jacobs was captured riding up the road on his pushbike towards the beach around 8.30pm on January 14.
As Jacobs rode past the hotel he was seen shouting something to the security guard, Egor Roche De Oliveira.
Mr Oliveria is then seen signalling for Jacobs to ride over to him, but as he headed down a hill toward the pub, he was shoved by the security guard, causing him to fall.
Mr Oliveria then held Jacobs in a headlock, waiting for police to arrive.
The court heard Jacobs had allegedly threatened Mr Oliveria in the week leading up to the incident.
Mr Oliveria alleged Jacobs told him “I will finish you”, “I will bash you”, “the night will end bad for you” and “your time will come”.
The court heard the alleged threats stemmed from a concern Jacobs had about a jacket he had left at the hotel earlier.
Mr Oliveria told the court he had acted in self-defence.
“(Jacobs) was riding his bike toward me really fast and if I didn’t act he would have run me over for sure,” Mr Oliveria said.
The court heard the bouncer held Jacobs down with his arm across his neck for around 10 minutes waiting for police.
A crowd gathered to watch the drama, and police facts state the name “George Floyd” was screamed by a few.
George Floyd was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer after having his wind pipe blocked when the cop knelt on his neck in Minnesota during an arrest in May 2020.
Mr Oliveria said he pulled Jacobs from the street onto the footpath, and jumped on Jacobs’ back and restrained him to “cease the aggression”.
When police arrived, Jacobs was arrested and refused bail at Byron Bay Police Station that night.
Another security guard from the Beach Hotel, Andrey Mirkovic, backed Mr Oliveria’s story and claimed he had also felt threatened by Jacobs leading up to the event.
However, Magistrate Karen Stafford dismissed Mr Mirkovic’s statement, noting there was little evidence to support his claim.
Jacobs told the court that on the day of the incident he “had a couple stubbies at home before riding to Byron Bay with a friend”.
He said he was upset a jacket he had left at the pub some weeks earlier had not been returned to him.
“They kept hurling abuse at me,” Jacobs said.
“I didn’t ride anywhere near (Mr Oliveria), he came towards me. I did not go to push or punch him I only remember falling in the street and being put in a headlock.”
Ms Stafford said there was a lack of evidence regarding the alleged threats made by Jacobs.
“It doesn’t have a ring of truth that Oliveria feared unlawful violence as the bike didn’t seem to be coming towards him in the video footage,” Ms Stafford said.
She found Jacobs not guilty on both charges.
But his day at court had more to come, as he also pleaded not guilty to a larceny charge for allegedly attempting to take a Khaki German Army jacket from a Byron Bay op shop called Global Ripple on April 11.
TV footage from the store showed Jacobs exiting Global Ripple without making an attempt to pay for the jacket and riding away on his push bike, police facts stated.
The court heard Jacobs thought “he was permitted to take the jacket”.
Ms Stafford said Jacobs had a history of dishonesty offences, and convicted and fined him $800 on the larceny charge. The jacket was returned to the store.
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