Owner of Burleigh Heads bar Rosella’s faces court for strangulation

The co-owner of a popular Gold Coast bar has learned his fate after being sentenced in a Sydney court for choking a woman.

UPDATE: GOLD Coast bar owner Jonathan Debeere has been sentenced to two years’ jail for choking a woman in 2015.

But he will not spend a day behind bars, with the NSW District Court today ordering the sentence be served as an intensive correction order, meaning he can remain in the community.

As part of the intensive correction order, Debeere will be required to participate in treatment programs and undergo psychological counselling.

He cannot commit another criminal offence while on the order and will be supervised by a corrections officer at Tweed Heads.

The order will run until March 2023.

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THE CO-OWNER of a popular Gold Coast bar is to be sentenced in a Sydney court on Friday for choking a woman and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.

Rosella’s owner Jonathan Debeere will face the NSW District Court after pleading guilty in November last year to the offence, which police say occurred at Rushcutters Bay on August 13, 2015.

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Debeere was originally expected to face trial in a Sydney court on charges of assault occasioning bodily harm, destroying or damaging property and intentionally choking a person with recklessness.

Jonathan Debeere pictured shortly before the opening of Rosella’s in January 2019. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

But earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to the choking charge and asked the court to take into account the other two offences — destroying property and assault — when being sentenced for the strangulation charge.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail.

In NSW, courts can take the facts of additional offences into account without convicting a person of that charge.

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Debeere, who is on bail, declined to comment when contacted by the Bulletin on Thursday.

He is expected to be sentenced for the offences in front of Judge Ian McClintock at midday on Friday.

Rosella’s co-owner Jonathan Debeere. Picture: Mike Batterham.

Debeere and a friend opened Rosella’s Australiana bar in Burleigh Heads in January 2019.

“This is our first venture and we’re excited to open,” he said at the time.

“It’s been a big learning curve. It’s been super exciting to do.”

The bar is well-known for its fancy jaffles and signature cocktails.

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The venue, which has become a popular watering hole for locals and tourists, made headlines earlier this year after it created the “Ruby Princess” cocktail — named after the cruise ship responsible for more than 20 coronavirus deaths.

Debeere said the bar was known for “having fun” when approached about the cocktail last May.

“Lots of people (have been) having a good laugh about it and wanting to order it,” he told the Bulletin.

“No criticism at all. I think it’s very Australian to have a laugh at ourselves and at society as a whole when our chips are down, so no complaints, all good vibes.”