Kaci Twaddle: Notorious public nuisance jailed for violent home invasion
A notorious serial “pest” has been jailed after her abhorrent anti-social behaviour escalated when she head-butted a vulnerable old man and stole his KFC during a home invasion.
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A notorious serial “pest” has been jailed after her abhorrent anti-social behaviour escalated when she head-butted a vulnerable old man and stole his KFC and a bottle of booze during a violent home invasion.
Kaci Jane Twaddle, 38, sporting an 11-page criminal history spanning 20 years, pleaded guilty to 10 new charges involving at least five victims when she appeared in the Ingham Magistrates Court via video-link from the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre.
The charges included stealing, trespass and assault causing bodily harm, as well as two counts each of public nuisance, assaulting police and serious assault of persons aged over 60.
The final charge of entering a dwelling with intent was amended to remove the aggravating feature of using violence.
All the offences occurred on May 5 – while she was on a suspended prison sentence – with the exception of one public nuisance charge the previous day.
Prosecutor Luay Allawy said that charge related to Twaddle entering a yard and launching a foul-mouthed tirade against the innocent occupants of a home.
He said police moved Twaddle on but she was arrested after she walked onto a road and blocked traffic.
Mr Allawy said Twaddle’s criminal behaviour continued the next day when she knocked on the door of an elderly man’s home demanding to be let in.
During the sentencing, which lasted over 90 minutes, there was debate as to whether the victim, 80, was known to Twaddle but it was eventually accepted that there had been a brief meeting between the pair at a pub that morning.
“The victim asked the defendant to leave but the defendant head-butted the victim to the forehead that caused the victim to stumble backwards,” Mr Allawy said.
Twaddle entered the man’s home, took KFC from his fridge before microwaving it and eating it, stole alcohol and “left, yelling obscenities”.
Mr Allawy said a grossly intoxicated and abusive Twaddle later rocked up at the home of an acquaintance, 67, assaulting him in his yard as well as punching a second man who had just arrived.
He said Twaddle was again arrested and later struck two officers at Ingham Police Station.
The QPS prosecutor said the defendant’s criminal history was “abhorrent”, with previous terms of imprisonment not stopping her offending.
He called for a deterrent sentence.
“(She’s) a pest and a menace to members of the Ingham community.”
Defence lawyer Margaret Crowther, in a detailed submission, said her client had substance abuse and mental health issues, had been the victim of an arson attack on her Ingham home in 2021 and had battled homelessness since.
She said one of Twaddle’s victims “declared that she is a good person but when she’s affected by alcohol she becomes increasingly more difficult”.
Ms Crowther said Twaddle would return home to Palm Island after her release.
Magistrate Cathy McLennan marvelled at Twaddle’s history, which included 100 convictions, and said the latest offences reflected “truly disgraceful behaviour”.
She said that the defendant had not sought treatment for substance abuse or her mental health conditions, which included schizophrenia.
“I say this to you in relation to your offending and your mental health, these are your decisions that you are making; this offending is, in my view, in your control,” she said.
“You chose not to get any mental health treatment, you chose … not take any medication that might have assisted you with your condition and you chose to drink excessively.”
Twaddle, who had served 222 days in custody, was jailed for a head sentence of two years and the suspended jail term activated, to run cumulatively.
Magistrate McLennan set a parole eligibility date of January 2, with a requirement that she undergo substance abuse and mental-health treatment upon her release.
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Originally published as Kaci Twaddle: Notorious public nuisance jailed for violent home invasion
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