Jesse James Slade: Brothers in court after Christmas festivities turns into family feud

A churchgoing Illawarra rugby league player was accused of looking for some trouble one night last year but became emotional as he was found not guilty, wiping away tears.

An Illawarra footy player became teary after a magistrate admonished his criminal record after finding him not guilty of assaulting his stepbrother after a few Christmas beers turned hostile.

Jesse James Slade, 34, fronted Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday to fight a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a back-up charge of common assault.

Slade had previously pleaded guilty to a related charge of detention application arrest.

The court heard from the complainant, Nathan Annetts, who is the stepbrother of Slade, with the two sharing the same mother.

The 41-year-old Mudgee man and his family made a rare trip to the Illawarra last December to spend time with his mother in Bellambi for Christmas.

On the night of Sunday, December 12, 2021, the step brothers were sharing a case of beer with another brother and a brother-in-law at the mother‘s abode before Mr Annetts went to bed and Slade left with another stepbrother.

The following day, Slade returned to his mother’s place, where he resided, but Mr Annetts felt he was “fairly ripe” (intoxicated) telling the court he “didn’t bring his kids down here after 10 years for this s***”.

Slade went to his other stepbrother’s place in Bulli, telling the court he sobered up by sleeping on the couch.

Illawarra man Jesse James Slade was found not guilty of assaulting stepbrother in 2021. Picture: Facebook

He returned just after midnight, looking to catch some shut-eye, though he was also “irritated” because he was overdue for his antidepressant medication.

The police prosecution wasn’t able to prove the next sequence of events as they alleged Mr Annetts woke to a pacing Slade before asking him to leave.

The prosecution alleged Slade became aggressive and punched Mr Annetts multiple times in the head with the scuffle spilling from the hallway to outside their mother’s house.

Mr Annetts was left with a sore nose and a scratched upper lip, the court heard.

Slade said he was not the aggressor and was acting in self-defence with the Mt Kembla Lowries rugby league player explaining in court that his stepbrother “tried to manhandle me out of my own house”.

Slade was accused of also calling Mr Annetts a “grub” and a “padophile”, but he strenuously denied making any such comments saying “I go to church, I don’t say things like that”.

Defence lawyer Ben Hart described the injuries as the “very definition of transient trifle” and they didn‘t amount to grievous bodily harm.

Magistrate Michael O’Brien said he’d been served two “conflicting versions” and as such found Slade not guilty of either assault charge.

Happier times when Jesse James Slade (right) was playing for the Kandos Waratahs with his brother Nathan Annetts. Picture: Instagram

Despite the judgement, Magistrate O’Brien lambasted Slade and said if the matter was before a civil court, he would have “no problem finding him guilty, no problem at all” given the lower required standard of proof.

“Your behaviour is reminiscent of a 16-year-old who doesn’t know any better,” Magistrate O’Brien bellowed.

“You have 27 pages littered with offending. It’s nothing to be proud of. You’re lucky that applying for a job or a passport or signing up to a dating site doesn’t require you to put down your criminal history because they would avoid you with a barge pole.

“I hope in the fullness of time you are able to repair your relationship with your brother.”

The magistrate fined Slade $300 for the AVO breach which occurred on Boxing Day, two weeks after the bust-up.