Ava Marie Wiggins pleads guilty to assaults on Gold Coast bus driver, 85yo passenger

A woman punched and spat on a Gold Coast bus driver before turning on an elderly woman who tried to intervene. Find out what happened in court.

A woman who punched and spat on a Gold Coast bus driver before turning on an 85-year-old woman who tried to intervene has walked away from court.

Southport Magistrates Court was told Ava Marie Wiggins did not tap on with her Go card when she got on the bus on March 10 last year, becoming aggressive when the driver confronted her about her fare.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kim Murphy said Wiggins started swinging her handbag then spat on and punched the driver several times.

Sen Const. Murphy said an elderly woman on the bus tried to step in but only became Wiggins’ next target, copping punches around her face and shoulders.

Wiggins was soon removed from the bus by the driver and other bystanders.

Ava Marie Wiggins leaving the Southport courthouse. Picture: Jessica Paul

It was only months earlier in October, 2022 that Wiggins assaulted another person during an argument, leaving them with bruising and swelling after punching them twice in the face.

The court was told Wiggins spent several months behind bars on an unlawful wounding charge before being sentenced in Southport District Court in December.

Defence lawyer Katherine McHenry told the court her client’s diagnoses of borderline personality disorder and ADHD impacted her ability to regulate her emotions and meant she struggled academically before leaving school in year 9.

Ms McHenry said the 24-year-old was also using drugs at the time of the assaults, but had since completed a rehabilitation program and been clean since her release.

Wiggins pleaded guilty to several charges including assault occasioning bodily harm and serious assault of a person over 60.

She was sentenced to nine months’ jail with immediate parole release.