James Desmond Murphy will remain behind bars over ‘frightening’ alleged bashing

A magistrate was unable to watch the full video of an alleged violent brawl at a Gold Coast tavern saying it ‘turned my stomach’. FIND OUT WHY

A Gold Coast man has been slammed by a magistrate, saying video of his alleged involvement in a violent bashing at a Burleigh Waters pub “turned my stomach”.

James Desmond Murphy has been remanded in the Southport watch-house since his arrest on Monday.

Police say a security guard was trying to evict the 41-year-old father from Treetops Tavern when an altercation broke out.

James Desmond Murphy is charged over alleged violent Burleigh bashing.

It’s alleged the security guard was slashed with a knife and as a bystander tried to come to his rescue, he was also assaulted and struck over the head.

Police say two officers responding to the disturbance were injured when chairs were thrown at them and they were sprayed with a fire extinguisher.

Footage of the graphic alleged bashing was played in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning where Murphy, charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and obstruct police, made an application for bail.

The Biggera Waters man was supported in court by his partner and his mother.

The two women left the room during the hearing when footage from the alleged assault was played.

James Desmond Murphy.

CCTV vision shown to the court from inside Treetops Tavern contains footage in which police will allege a shirtless Murphy corners a security guard at the venue, repeatedly landing punches to the man’s face and body as he tried to defend himself.

Midway through the clip Magistrate Pamela Dowse, who was presiding over the hearing, asked for the footage to be stopped saying: “I’ve seen enough of that”.

Another clip played in court, showed the accused allegedly in a stand-off with police inside the venue, the officers pull a taser and within a split second another man bursts through a door and sprays the officers with a fire extinguisher. The room was quickly filled with a thick white haze.

The magistrate let out a sigh as the officers could be seen retreating in the footage.

William Rees Mahee, 25, has also been charged with five counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and four counts of serious assault police officer while armed. He was granted bail earlier in the week.

Murphy remained stoic throughout much of his bail application, mouthing words across the courtroom to his partner and cracking a smile. The court was told he had just been granted bail less than a week prior to the alleged altercation, over a separate matter.

A magistrate labelled James Desmond Murphy’s alleged actions as “frightening”.

In support of his bid for freedom, Murphy’s lawyer argued he struggles with depression and anxiety and on the day of the incident his uncle had passed away and he had been drinking heavily. The court was told his risk of reoffending could be managed with strict bail conditions such as a ban from licensed premises and a requirement that he didn’t consume alcohol or take drugs and would submit for random testing.

Magistrate Dowse was not convinced and labelled his alleged actions as “absolutely frightening” and found him to be an unacceptable risk to the community.

“What I could see in that CCTV footage turned my stomach. Unacceptable in any way or place,” she said.

“You were put on bail a week before and that's what we see. In my view that means you are likely to commit further offences”.

Murphy’s bail application was refused and he will remain behind bars until his next court appearance.