Juanita Appo, Andrea Duncan face Southport District Court after bashing pair in Surfers Paradise park
Two women armed with makeshift weapons – including a glass bottle and rubber thong – have attacked an unsuspecting couple in a visitor hub park. Read their punishment.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two women armed with makeshift weapons – including a glass bottle and rubber thong – bashed and stole from an unsuspecting pair in a Surfers Paradise park.
Southport District Court was told Juanita Gaye Kathleen Appo, 45, and Andrea Dianne Duncan, 33, set upon the man and woman on February 11 last year.
The pair refused Appo’s demands for a mobile phone and bank card, with Appo splashing liquid from the bottle she was carrying onto the man during their escalating confrontation.
Crown prosecutor Bernard Berger said Appo then swung the bottle into the woman’s head three times – causing it to smash – before grabbing her collar and landing another four punches to her face.
Mr Berger said Appo and her target fell to the ground during the scuffle, with Duncan attacking the male victim every time he tried to intervene.
Duncan punched, kicked, and stomped on the man – even repeatedly slapping him with her rubber thong as she dragged him away from the fight.
The court was told Duncan slipped the female victim’s phone into her pocket before she and Appo left the scene.
Both victims were left with cuts and bruises. The man also suffered three chipped teeth.
Mr Berger said Appo and Duncan had lengthy criminal histories and were respectively on parole and probation orders at the time.
It was heard both women experienced traumatic childhoods and were struggling with drug addiction and homelessness at the time of the assault.
Appo’s defence barrister Michael Purcell told the court his client had since completed a 12-week rehabilitation program and found stable accommodation near Brisbane, which she would lose if returned to custody.
Her co-offender’s barrister Gary Churchill said Duncan still struggled with substance abuse, but was motivated to work towards rehabilitation and had found a home on the Gold Coast.
“She is not beyond repair, Your Honour – she’s a broken woman, there’s no doubt about that, but she’s not beyond repair,” Mr Churchill said.
Both women each pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one of stealing.
Appo was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, wholly suspended for two-and-a-half years. She was also placed on probation for two years.
Duncan was sentenced to 18 months’ jail with immediate parole release. She remains in custody on remand on an unrelated charge.
Utter tool: Man allegedly makes mad dash with thousands in unpaid tools
Do you know these people? Police are seeking three individuals, who they believe may be able to assist in their investigations into various alleged crimes.
One-punch kill accused takes stand: ‘He was coming at me’
An ex-Keebra Park football prodigy charged with the one-punch death of a Surfers Paradise reveller has told his criminal trial the punch was a split-second decision after a perceived threat.