Crime: Simon Feakes convicted of assault after attacking man at Gold Coast casino
A former cocaine addict who once spent eight years in jail for drug trafficking says a personal problem was to blame after pleading guilty to punching a man in the face.
Police & Courts
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A FORMER cocaine addict who once spent eight years in jail for drug trafficking told a court his anxiety was to blame for punching a man in the face.
Simon Feakes was charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm for punching a man for allegedly insulting his girlfriend at a Gold Coast casino on January 18, 2020.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault in the Southport Magistrates Court, was sentenced to community service and ordered to pay his victim $1000 compensation.
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Defence lawyer Daniel Caruana said Feakes, 45, was diagnosed with anxiety after being released from jail where he spent eight years in a “structured environment”.
Mr Caruana said the unemployed father-of-two was jailed in 2009 for drug trafficking to support his “significant” cocaine addiction.
“He instructs that his anxiety is worse in less-structured environments in the community, particularly in places such as shopping centres,” he said.
Feakes was convicted and ordered to serve 50 hours of community service and pay the victim $1000.
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