Fraud, arson, drug dealing: Gold Coast Gym junkies who have gone bad named and shamed
An influencer busted with steroids, a fraudster who ripped off his employer and a bodybuilder who torched his dad’s car. These are some of the most notorious Gold Coast gym junkies. LIST
Police & Courts
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From an influencer caught with steroids, to a fraudster who took money from his employer and a bodybuilder who torched his dad’s car for insurance money.
These are some of the most notorious Gold Coast gym junkies who have ended up on the wrong side of the law.
Daniel Heazlewood
A steroid-using gym junkie, Daniel Heazlewood brutally killed his Gold Coast mother and buried her in a shallow grave filled with lime in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Heazlewood was granted parole just 29 months after being sentenced to eight years’ jail for the manslaughter of his mum Linda Sidon, whom he called “a waste of space … a bogan … and an ugly b-tch”.
Her remains have never been found, but despite Queensland’s “no body, no parole” laws, the Parole Board agreed to release Heazlewood.
Heazlewood murdered his mother in 2009 but did not confess to police until 2015, after a listening device planted by cops in his car recorded him saying: “F@#ked her up. She just pushed me too far one day … ha, so I killed her. Gotta remember where I put the b*tch.”
Garry James Turner
A Gold Coast Instagram influencer caught with steroids does nothing but train, get photos taken and go to bed early, a court was told.
Former schoolteacher Garry James Turner pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court in March to possessing dangerous drugs and possessing a restricted drug.
The 41-year-old was found with a small amount of drostanolone, a type of steroid, and a gel containing sildenafil, the main ingredient in Viagra, when police searched his Biggera Waters home on November 30, 2019.
Defence lawyer Campbell MacCallum told the court the search was part of a drug operation which months earlier had found more steroid-type drugs at Turner’s place.
Turner was sentenced to two years prison with immediate parole for those drug offences in the Supreme Court in September last year.
“The fact that he is now on parole has certainly given him a big scare,” Mr MacCallum said.
He told the court that since the sentencing Turner has been prescribed a type of peptide.
Magistrate Catherine Pirie noted that Turner, originally from England, was well-educated, articulate and had worked as a teacher for almost 13 years.
She convicted Turner without further punishment. Convictions were recorded.
Chris Duspara
A cocaine king who drove luxury cars and lived the high life in Surfers Paradise threatened to “jump on the head” of a worker after he had been banned from a gym.
Chris Duspara and a friend threatened the World Gym employee over the phone on June 15, 2017 after Duspara was banned from going to any of the franchise sites.
Duspara and his business partner Onur Ada were trafficking cocaine through the Glitter Strip, making more than 350 deals to 60 people in about 12 months in 2016-2017.
Duspara and Ada engaged outlaw motorcycle gang heavies to rough up their competition, the Brisbane Supreme Court was told in September, during sentencing for drug trafficking charges.
Duspara was sentenced to six years’ prison.
He was to face Southport Magistrates Court via videolink last month for using a carriage service to menace and harass, fraud and stealing as a clerk and servant, but the prison was unable to facilitate a video link.
Instead, Duspara’s lawyer Jason Grant, of Grant Lawyers, entered a guilty plea on Duspara’s behalf.
The court was told Duspara and his friend made the call to the gym, threatening the employee’s mother and children, and making threats to kill.
They then demanded the employee confirm a phone number. When the employee did that, Duspara told him: “We are still going to jump on your head.”
The court was also told that Duspara stole stamps used in vehicle logbooks from his workplace at Von Bibra, and in January last year he purchased a vehicle for $14,000 and wound back the odometer thousands of kilometres.
He sold the vehicle the same day for $20,000.
Magistrate Louisa Pink placed Duspara on a $100 good behaviour bond for three months.
She took into account that Duspara would not be eligible for parole on the drug trafficking charges until March 2023.
Stefan Anthony Vicelic
An Instagram bodybuilder left his iPhone near his father’s car after he torched it near an upscale Gold Coast health spa in what was described as an “idiotic” attempt to get insurance money.
Stefan Anthony Vicelic had used the phone to search for tips about jerry cans and which type of petrol was best to light a fire.
The bodybuilder burnt his hands, wrists and ankles setting the blaze.
He was also found to have breached his bail by using social media despite bail conditions banning him from the apps.
Vicelic pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court in August last year to arson and breach of bail.
The judge described Vicelic’s attempts as “idiotic”.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years with parole release on December 20, 2020.
Rhys Emmerson
A bodybuilding teacher tried to cover his tracks after he defrauded a Tweed-based supplements company before quitting his role as their general manager, a court heard.
Rhys Emmerson, 44, appeared in Tweed Heads Local Court in November last year to plead guilty to destroying a record to obtain advantage and dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
The court heard the father-of-one progressed up the ranks from brand ambassador in 2013 to social media manager and then general manager of Outlast Nutrition in December 2015 earning a salary of $52,000 plus commission.
Court documents revealed the sports supplement company’s director began keeping a closer eye on Emmerson’s work productivity after sales declined in February, 2016.
On March 4, 2016, the Paradise Point man voided 39 credit notes for product sent out but no money collected on Outlast Nutrition’s accounting system using his company laptop and then sent a Facebook message advising his boss he quit his job.
A few days later, the company director found Emmerson had voided the credits to hide the fact clients had paid for their products and the money had been deposited straight into Emmerson’s bank account instead of paying the company in November the previous year.
The company had been defrauded out of $790.
Defence solicitor Sinead Garland said her client had made a cheque out to the company to repay the funds.
Emmerson was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month conditional release order.
No conviction recorded
Matthew Richard O’Reilly
One half of an Instagram fitness power couple was caught with synthetic steroids, testosterone and peptides he used to help enhance his physique when body building.
Matthew Richard O’Reilly pleaded guilty in Southport Magistrates Court in January to possessing dangerous drugs and unlawful possession of restricted drugs.
O’Reilly, who has more than 56,000 Instagram followers, is the husband of Emily King, who has a following of more than 218,000.
Together they run King Bodies which is an online fitness and nutrition business aimed at helping people lose weight and bulk up.
Prosecutor Donn Reid told the court police searched O’Reilly’s Miami home about 10.30am on February 10 last year and came across a number of tablets with no prescription.
Included in the stash was more than 104 tablets of the synthetic steroid stanozolol and more than 100 tablets of proviron, a testosterone.
A number of peptides were also found.
Defence solicitor Campbell MacCallum, of Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers, said O’Reilly was a body builder and used the drugs when competing.
“I am instructed (one of the peptides) is a drug that dries the body out and acts like a diuretic and makes the physic more aesthetically pleasing,” he said.
Magistrate Grace Kahlert placed O’Reilly on an $800 good behaviour bond for 18 months.
He was also required to attend a drug referral program.
No conviction was recorded.
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