Quentin Troy Hall jailed for attempted robbery, arson at Asian Care 4 U Massage
A father-of-four who believed himself to be the victim of a sexual assault at a Surfers Paradise massage parlour returned the following day drunk, armed, and ready to take revenge, a court has heard.
A Gold Coast man who claimed he received an unwanted happy ending at a massage parlour returned the following day armed with a gel blaster and jerry cans before assaulting the owner, pistol whipping her friend, and setting the business alight, a court has heard.
Surfers Paradise man Quentin Troy Hall, 42, appeared in Southport District Court on December 3, where he pleaded guilty to a six-count indictment and one summary charge.
He admitted to attempted armed robbery, attempted arson, assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, entering premises to commit an indictable offence, two counts of common assault, and obstructing police.
The offending occurred at Surfers Paradise business Asian Care 4 U Massage, on Surfers Paradise Bvd, about 6.30pm on December 5 last year.
The court heard the day prior, December 4, Hall attended the business for a massage to deal with back soreness.
However, in the words of defence counsel John Fraser, there was a “misunderstanding as to what was to be provided,” and the masseuse “refused to cease masturbating him despite his rejection of it”.
The court heard Hall attended a police station later that day to report the matter, but a statement was not ultimately taken and no charges were laid.
The following day, Hall drank two bottles of scotch before arming himself with a imitation pistol gel blaster and two jerry cans full of accelerant.
Crown prosecutor Dane Marley told the court Hall confronted the business owner in a corridor, pulled her to the ground by her hair, and pressed the imitation pistol into her forehead demanding cash.
The woman’s friend, a 68-year-old man, told Hall there wasn’t any money on premises, and went to the back car park to call for help, where he was joined by the massage parlour owner.
Hall then emerged, walking towards the pair while pointing the gun at them and demanding their mobile phones, before approaching the man and pistol whipping him in the head, causing lacerations.
After this, Hall went back inside, doused the foyer in accelerant and lit it up, starting a blaze that caused almost $85,000 damage to the premises.
The court heard Hall decamped the scene, discarded one of the Jerry cans in a council bin, deposited his shirt and hat inside a bin at a nearby shopping centre, then returned to his residence, where he was arrested a short time later.
Hall was unable to be interviewed due to his level of intoxication.
Cops found him in possession of the gel blaster and also noted his shoes and jeans were covered in accelerant.
Hall has been remanded in pre-sentence custody since then, a total of 363 days.
The court heard he had only a minor, irrelevant criminal history prior to the current offending.
Mr Fraser, the defence counsel, told the court his client, a father-of-four, had diagnoses including PTSD, ADHD, and alcohol use disorder, with the defendant consuming up to a bottle of spirits a day at the height of his addiction.
Hall had maintained a good work history – predominantly in the hospitality sector – and he had been well-behaved in custody, rising to the role of supervisor in the prison kitchen, Mr Fraser submitted.
Magistrate Deborah Holliday KC sentenced Hall to two concurrent jail terms: five years suspended after 14 months for an operational period of five years, and three years with court-ordered parole release after serving 14 months.
With time served, he will be released from custody on February 4 next year.
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Originally published as Quentin Troy Hall jailed for attempted robbery, arson at Asian Care 4 U Massage
