17 Mackay-Whitsundays pub and club assaults revealed
From spitting blood to throwing punches, we reveal Mackay and Whitsunday’s most dangerous suburbs for assault and where the terrible punch-ups that blight a night-out happened.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A night out at the pub or a nightclub with friends is a time-honoured tradition but in 2021 and now 2022, an ugly shadow of violence can mix in with the fun.
We’ve broken down the stats on the most dangerous suburbs for assault offences across Mackay and the Whitsundays and we’ve listed the pub and club assaults that have marred the region over the past year.
Here are 15 pub and club assault cases that have blighted our region.
Convictions recorded
Kytarna Leyland-Rice – Langford’s Hotel
A BHP workforce co-ordinator smashed her drink glass on a man’s head during an explosive argument that began over a bar tab.
CCTV footage captured the moment Kytarna Leyland-Rice glassed the 35-year-old victim at Mackay’s Langford’s Hotel soon after throwing a drink in his face after he made racist and sexist comments, a court heard.
Now the 22-year-old will have to live with a criminal conviction recorded against her name after pleading guilty to unlawful wounding.
Mackay District Court heard the pair had been drinking at Sails Sports Bar for a Christmas party on December 27, 2020 where the victim felt Leyland-Rice had been using a bar tab to which she was not entitled.
Tensions escalated after the group travelled to Langford’s where both sides were using poor language.
During the clash, Leyland-Rice smashed her drink glass over his head, causing about a 3cm cut that needed four staples.
Defence barrister Scott McLennan said the victim “wouldn’t stop carrying on about this bar tab”.
“My client denied ever using the bar tab and she’s someone who really values their reputation as an honest person,” Mr McLennan said.
“Generally speaking, people who hit other people with glasses in licensed premises go to jail,” Judge Julie Dick said.
Judge Dick accepted the victim had been “very provocative” including making racist and sexual comments.
The court heard Leyland-Rice and her friends had at one point walked away before the victim stood up and started yelling and gesturing.
Leyland-Rice was jailed for 12 months, wholly suspended for 18 months. A conviction was recorded.
Boyd Elliott Tass and Aaron Anton Christiansen – Andergrove Tavern
Boyd Elliott Tass and Aaron Anton Christiansen were arrested after starting a bar fight at Andergrove Tavern, just hours after a friend’s funeral on September 10, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke told Mackay District Court the pair were ignoring Covid rules at the pub when a staff member approached them.
She said Christiansen, 33, pushed a punter, which led to the bar staff member asking the group to leave.
Ms O’Rourke said Christiansen began punching the staff member in the face.
A security guard came over to end the fray, but Christiansen pushed him and squeezed his neck, before he punched another patron.
Ms O’Rourke said Christiansen continued punching the patron until security put him in a headlock.
Tass, 45, then got involved, punching another patron until the pair recognised each other.
Christiansen and Tass then left the bar, and were arrested the next day.
Tass and Christiansen appeared in the prisoner’s dock in Mackay District Court, but were represented separately.
Defence barrister Scott McLennan said once the bar staff member fell to the ground, Christiansen stopped fighting.
“Once he was knocked over by my client and he was on the ground, it was very clear in the CCTV footage my client stopped any assault, and he in fact stepped back,” he said.
Defence barrister Stephen Byrne, acting for Tass, said his client suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Christiansen was sentenced to 18 months with immediate parole on February 8, 2022, and must pay $1000 compensation to the bar staff member.
Judge Julie Dick sentenced Tass to 18 months jail, to serve six months.
Because he has served 213 days in custody, Tass received immediate parole.
Jason James Filtness and Mark Anthony Fricke – Kuttabul Hotel
A magistrate ripped into two mates for attacking a 60-year-old man at a pub north of Mackay as he dealt out matching jail terms to the pair.
Jason James Filtness and Mark Anthony Fricke had stopped in for a drink at the Kuttabul Hotel and took exception to how another patron was acting.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard the victim had been talking to a waitress about fishing and was speaking very fast, laughing and allegedly acting in a “manic” manner.
Acting Magistrate Athol Kennedy, in sentencing the two men, asked them, “What is that to you? You’re in a pub.”
The court heard Filtness, 52, and Fricke, 46, both left and got in a vehicle, but got out of the car when the victim allegedly said “walk away fat boy”.
The pair walked back to the veranda where the victim was standing – each via a different set of steps – Filtness grabbed him at his neck and shoulder and pushed him with enough force he fell over, hitting his head.
Both men were jailed for six months, wholly suspended for 18 months, and must comply with a 12-month ban from the Kuttabul Hotel.
Filtness and Fricke must also each pay $800 compensation.
Dyon James Blyth – Sarina Hotel
A boozed-up Sarina man has been banned from every pub in Queensland and narrowly avoided a jail term after he put a bottle shop worker in a headlock and tried to “dack” her when he was refused service.
It was not the first time Dyon James Blyth had been arrested for his bad drunken behaviour but Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said it had better be the last if he wanted to avoid a jail term.
The 24 year old has also been banned from any licensed venue in Queensland for 12 months.
Mackay Magistrates court heard Blyth had gone to the Sarina Hotel bottle shop drive-through about 5.18pm when the victim, a former friend he had not seen in two years, had been working.
The court heard Blyth asked for a carton of pre-mixed rum and tried to give her a hug, which she did not return.
Prosecutor David Epstein said Blyth then “grabbed the victim in a headlock” and began roughing up her hair with his hand as she said “let me go”.
Blyth pleaded guilty to common assault in a public place while adversely affected.
Solicitor Peter Clark, of Strutynski Law, said his client knew he had alcohol issues and had been receiving counselling sessions at Lives Lived Well, as he suggested community service as the penalty.
“Personal deterrence is needed for him, I’m seriously considering a period of imprisonment albeit wholly suspended,” Ms Hartigan said.
The court heard he had entries for assault occasioning bodily harm and being a public nuisance and had been on probation at the time of this offending.
Ultimately, Ms Hartigan decided on a lengthy probation order because Blyth had sought counselling.
“If you do not want to end up in jail you need to … address your alcohol problem,” she said.
Blyth was given two years probation, 40 hours unpaid community service and the 12-month banning order.
A conviction was recorded.
Bradley Keith Ladgrove – Andergrove Tavern
A Mackay father grieving the loss of a close mate involved himself in a pub melee, assaulting a staffer and headbutting a stranger.
It was hours after Bradley Keith Ladgrove had farewelled his friend at a funeral and he was drunk after hosting a wake at his home when a group decided to go to the Andergrove Tavern.
Mackay District Court heard a fight broke out about 6pm on September 10, 2020 in which Ladgrove decided to involve himself.
First he grabbed the venue manager as he was trying to break up the clash. When another man intervened, Ladgrove headbutted him before grabbing his face and shoving him away.
The 31 year old pleaded guilty to four counts of common assault.
Judge Gregory Lynham said Ladgrove was burdened by a criminal history that included entries of violence and a jail term.
“You were in a highly emotionally charged state that day,” Judge Lynham said about Ladgrove’s offending.
The court heard Ladgrove had since gotten his life together.
He was jailed for four months with immediate parole release.
Convictions recorded.
Vito Sebastian Morello – outside Boom Nightclub in Airlie Beach
A Whitsunday man warned eight years ago he was “knocking on the door of jail” for his violent behaviour has been convicted of serious assault after punching a police officer in the face during a night out in Airlie Beach.
Vito Sebastian Morello pleaded guilty at Proserpine Magistrates Court to four charges arising from a string of incidents in the early hours of Sunday, May 2.
The court heard these began with Morello ripping up an infringement notice for public urination immediately after police gave it to him outside a main street kebab shop.
About 20 minutes later, outside Boom Nightclub, Morello’s friends had to physically restrain him as he attempted to “antagonise and pester” the same police officers into a fight, telling them to “take off [their] uniforms” and telling bystanders, who were encouraging him to go home, “nah, f--- them, just ‘cause they’re wearing uniforms …”
The 32 year old then took off his own shirt, and stood in the street, yelling at the officers: “Let’s f**king go, let’s f---ing go.”
When Morello ran from approaching police, he tripped over, got up and “lunged” towards an officer, the court heard.
He punched the officer in the forehead and again fled on foot, then resisted and laughed at officers’ attempts to restrain him on the ground.
The court heard Morello took his shoes and socks off and threw them at police at the watch house.
The court heard this was only the latest incident in a long criminal history which included multiple assault and public nuisance offences committed in locations such as Stanthorpe and Brisbane.
Defence lawyer Danny Yarrow said his client’s behaviour had significantly improved in recent years as he had changed jobs and stopped “running around with the wrong crowd”.
Mr Yarrow said the father of one had no memory of the events leading up to his latest arrest, and was “quite remorseful” upon reviewing CCTV footage from the night.
Magistrate Ron Muirhead took into account reference letters from Morello’s employers and the fact that most of his previous offending had occurred when he was aged in his early 20s.
He recorded convictions for all four charges – serious assault police, assault, public nuisance, and obstruct police – and sentenced Morello to nine months imprisonment, with immediate parole.
Morello had to pay a $1200 fine plus $1000 compensation to the officer he punched, and complete 195 hours of community service.
He was banned from the Airlie Beach Safe Night Precinct for 12 months.
Convictions not recorded
Monique Jemma Allen – McGuires Hotel
Birthday celebrations were ruined after a late-night scuffle between a disability worker and her friend ended on the pavement outside a popular Mackay bar.
Monique Jemma Allen got into a fight with a friend who had been comforting an upset girl outside of McGuires Hotel on August 7, 2021.
Prosecutor David Epstein told Mackay Magistrates Court about 10.30pm the 20-year-old disability worker approached the girl, who was “highly emotional” about seeing her former boyfriend at a nearby bar.
Allen told the girl her former flame was looking for her, to which her friend turned to Allen, upset she had mentioned the boy’s name.
The court heard Allen said ‘why the f--k are you talking to me like that’ and pushed her friend with two hands in the chest.
Allen was then pushed back in the chest before grabbing her friend’s hair and dragging her to the ground.
The victim said she was unable to free herself from Allen’s grasp, which meant she was not able to get up or move on from the altercation.
Defence solicitor Peter Clarke said Allen was very remorseful and of good character, with no criminal convictions.
Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan agreed, and said she was “content” giving the Andergrove resident a second chance.
Allen pleaded guilty to common assault and was put on a good-behaviour bond and ordered to pay $400 compensation to the victim.
A conviction was not recorded.
Jason Jeffs – Dolphin Heads Resort
Jason Jeffs, who lived at Dolphin Heads Resort in a self-contained apartment, got into a fight with the property manager’s husband after electricity was lost to his neighbouring room.
Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke told Mackay District Court the 50-year-old Mackay man and the property’s caretaker investigated the loss of power, with initial blame placed on Jeffs.
Annoyed, Jeffs called the caretaker a “dog” and said to come outside.
The caretaker followed Jeffs outside to continue the conversation, but Jeffs turned around and punched him in the jaw.
As a result of the fight, the caretaker suffered abrasions to his knee and elbow.
Defence barrister Scott McLennan told the court Jeffs’ behaviour was unusual.
“This is the first time he’s been before any court,” he said.
“He and his wife bought the unit at Dolphin Heads resort for his family to use … he didn’t realise when he bought this unit he was buying into one of these situations where there’s an ongoing toxic dispute between the body corporate, the managers and the owners.
“After this incident he sold his unit, so there’s no further issues.”
Jeffs pleaded guilty in Mackay District Court on February 4, 2022 to assault occasioning bodily harm.
Judge Julie Dick fined the convenience store owner $1000 and ordered him to pay the victim $250.
A conviction was not recorded.
Travis Leslie Garland – Souths Leagues Club
Travis Leslie Garland twice punched Luke Turner in the face after he was asked to leave Souths Leagues Club because he had been pestering a female customer on April 27, 2021.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard he repeatedly called Mr Turner a “f---ing gay c***” and punched him twice in the face.
Garland also damaged a sign. About six hours later, he bogged his car allegedly drink-driving on a field at Harrup Park Country Club about 11.20pm and refused to partake in a breath test.
The 46 year old pleaded guilty to common assault and failing to provide a specimen of breath.
Acting Magistrate Athol Kennedy adjourned the case for one week to find out more information in relation to the victim impact statement, which claimed Mr Turner had since quit his job following the assault.
The court heard Garland had no real criminal or traffic history, suffered from mental health issues and also self-medicated with alcohol.
Garland gave a letter of apology to Mr Turner.
Garland was sentenced to 12 months probation for the common assault charge and disqualified from driving for six months for failing to provide a specimen of breath.
No conviction was recorded.
Georgia Annmarie Bojack – The Gallery Lounge and Bar
Georgia Annmarie Bojack faced Mackay Magistrates Court on April 15, 2021 over a CBD nightclub assault while her victim watched on from the gallery.
CCTV footage captured the victim confronting Bojack inside The Gallery Lounge and Bar on December 6, 2021 before both women wound up on the ground.
The court heard Bojack then opportunistically grabbed a bar stool and swung it with “excessive force” at the woman’s mouth.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Sabine Scott said the victim was seeking $5010 in compensation for dental costs as a result.
“The victim also suffered pain and distress as indicated in her victim impact statement,” Sergeant Scott said.
But Magistrate Damian Dwyer said the other woman instigated the fight – and when she tried to interject from the gallery, he reprimanded her.
“It was a catfight in a pub over a bloke,” Mr Dwyer said.
Defence solicitor Steven Hayles, of Macrossan and Amiet, said his 24-year-old Rockhampton-born client worked as a stablehand for a Mackay region racehorse trainer.
Mr Hayles said Bojack, who was remorseful over her actions, completed Year 10 at Mirani State High School and had a verbal disability leading to misunderstandings in social settings while at school.
Bojack pleading guilty to the assault.
Mr Dwyer sentenced her to 110 hours unpaid community service to be completed within nine months and ordered her to pay her victim $5010 in compensation.
Bojack was banned from entering any licensed premises with the Mackay Safe Night Precinct until October.
A conviction was not recorded.
Jaymi Shay Cook – Wood and Victoria Street
CCTV footage has captured how a young Sarina hairdresser bashed another woman in a sustained attack in Mackay CBD during a night out.
The video, played in a court hearing to determine her punishment, depicted Jaymi Shay Cook and her co-accused pulling a young woman to the ground by her hair and then continuing to “stomp, kick and punch” the victim for five minutes.
Once a star student who had volunteered her time to teach English to children in South East Asia, Cook found herself in Mackay Magistrates court on August 5 charged with multiple violent offences.
The first assault occurred on July 19, 2020 near popular Mackay nightclub The Rabbit Hole after a “misunderstanding” over a phone left unattended in a booth.
The misunderstanding led to a violent brawl where Cook was seen “punching and kicking” the woman on the ground while bystanders looked on.
Prosecutor Chelsea Pearson said the assault was a “gratuitous display of violence” made worse by the fact it was two on one, and it was not Cook’s only violent offence.
Nine months later, the 23 year old was charged with assaulting a police officer following a brawl on Wood and Victoria Street.
Cook pleaded guilty to six charges – assault occasioning bodily harm on July 19, 2020 and assault and obstruct police, public nuisance near a licensed premises, obstructing police in public while adversely affected and obstructing watch-house officers on March 6, 2021.
While Acting Magistrate John Aberdeen said there were “no justifications” for this kind of violence, he took into consideration the history of Cook’s circumstances.
Cook’s lawyer Gerard Elmore argued her violent reactions were symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder for which she was now receiving treatment.
Mr Aberdeen also took into consideration Cook’s mother receiving a recent bowel cancer diagnosis and the “stress” this could cause on a family.
He accepted her letter claiming “she was on a downward spiral to a very bad place, it took something like this to allow her to take control of her life”.
Cook was given 15 months probation and 80 hours of community service.
She was also given a banning order restricting her access to the Mackay Safe Night Out precinct between 9.30pm and 6am until February 4, 2020.
No conviction was recorded.
Asia Marie Otway – Magnums
A 23-year-old Airlie Beach woman has narrowly avoided a prison sentence after teaming up with her sister in a “vicious, totally unprovoked” assault at a CBD taxi rank.
Asia Marie Otway faced Proserpine Magistrates Court this week, pleading guilty to charges of assaults occasioning bodily harm, commit public nuisance, and common assault, stemming from an incident near Magnums bar in November last year.
The court heard Otway attacked a woman lying down on a public bench waiting for a taxi about 12.50am on November 25, leaving her with multiple cuts and abrasions to her face.
Without warning, Otway grabbed the woman by the hair, pulled her off the bench, and punched her in the face.
Otway and her sister then pulled the victim to the ground, head first, and Otway continued to punch and kick the victim in the head and face.
Her solicitor Peta Vernon told the court it was “really out of character” behaviour for the young housekeeper, who she described as ”shy” and mostly ”keep[ing] to herself”.
“She’s had far too much to drink and actually has no memory of this offending,” Ms Vernon said.
The court heard Otway‘s sister had already been sentenced to 12 months’ probation and ordered to pay the victim $500 compensation for her part in the assault, plus a $100 fine for committing public nuisance.
Magistrate Ron Muirhead, on assessing the submissions, determined Otway should receive a harsher sentence as the “main offender” in the incident.
“It was totally unprovoked, with no warning given at all, and quite a vicious assault … on a person who was simply waiting for a taxi – that speaks for itself,” he said.
But, taking into account Otway’s young age and lack of criminal history, Mr Muirhead ultimately elected to impose an 18 month probation order, 120 hours of community service and a $1200 compensation order, instead. Convictions were not recorded.
Ross James Brackley – Airlie Beach Hotel
Ross James Brackley struck a 43-year-old Airlie Beach Hotel venue manager in the mouth and called him a “c--t” after being refused service on August 13 because of his level of intoxication.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard the victim told Brackley to drink some water when he tried to order an alcoholic beverage about 10pm, to which Brackley responded he already had and held up a plastic Mount Franklin bottle.
When the victim told Brackley he needed to be seen drinking the water, Brackley used the bottle to strike the man, and then had to be restrained on the ground until police arrived.
The court heard the victim was left bleeding from a cut on the inside of his mouth.
Brackley pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.
Defence barrister David Cole said Brackley was with his wife at the time of the assault and the couple had spent that day preparing to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday party.
He said the combination of little food throughout the day and a large amount of alcohol between the hours of 6.30pm and 9.30pm resulted in behaviour that “mortified” Brackley when he saw it on a CCTV recording.
Mr Cole said the incident came as a “shock” and a “wake-up call” to his client and that Brackley had since engaged with counsellors and paid the victim $1000 compensation.
Magistrate James Morton said there was no excuse for a man of Brackley’s age to behave in such a manner, telling him he “ought to know better”.
“When you’re told you’ve had enough to drink, that’s the end of it – sit down and act your age instead of acting like a child.”
The sentence was a $400 fine and a 12-month ban from the Airlie Beach Hotel, plus 40 hours of unpaid community service to be completed within 12 months.
No convictions were recorded.
Ben George Arthur Turner – Airlie Beach
A Mackay teen who claimed to be expecting his first child repeatedly punched a stranger in the head during a brutal assault at a fast food restaurant after a night out.
Ben George Arthur Turner did not know his victim when the pair came across each other at a Whitsunday McDonald’s but that did not stop him from causing $8500 in medical costs to the other man.
It was August 29, 2020 and Turner, then aged 18, had been with mates at the popular Airlie Beach fast food joint after a night out on the main strip at the same time as his soon-to-be victim.
Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke said the friends of both Turner and his victim “became involved in a scuffle”, after which the teen punched the other man about eight times in the head.
Mackay District Court heard Turner had continued hitting his victim after the other man had stopped resisting.
Turner, now 19, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, which has a maximum penalty for seven years jail.
Defence barrister Scott McLennan, instructed by Geoff Govey of Taylors Solicitors, said the offending was “not gratuitous violence”.
“He’s not a fighter. He told me he hasn’t been in a fight since Grade 7 when he was being bullied at school,” Mr McLennan said.
The court heard Turner claimed he had tried to pull his friend away from the victim’s friend, when the victim put him in a “choker hold”.
“He was trying to diffuse the situation, not aggravate it,” Mr McLennan said.
Because of his young age Judge Julie Dick placed Turner on two years probation and ordered he pay $2000 compensation. A conviction was recorded.
Whitsunday father – assault at Airlie Beach Hotel
A Whitsunday tradie has received a fine following a violent confrontation with a 62-year-old man he accused of sexually harassing his underage daughter who was working as a waitress.
The 48 year old pleaded guilty at Proserpine Magistrates Court this week to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm resulting from a night out at the Airlie Beach Hotel in which he injured the older man with a punch to the head.
The court heard the father entered the men’s toilets a short time after the man on the evening of October 16, 2021, and approached him extending his hand as if inviting him to shake it.
Instead of shaking the man’s hand, the man gripped it so he could not get away, and proceeded to punch him in the face, call him a “dirty f---ing paedophile” and scream at him: “Stay away from my daughter”, before staff intervened to separate them.
The victim was later taken to hospital via ambulance for treatment of facial injuries.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors said investigations revealed the man’s teenage daughter was a waitress at the hotel who had complained to her father about the 62 year old’s “inappropriate” behaviour towards her multiple times.
Defence lawyer Steven Hayles said his client was a father of two and a qualified tradesman who had performed work at the hotel and was in good standing among its staff.
Mr Hayles said the man’s punching was “excessive in the circumstances” but pointed out the victim suffered no lasting injuries as a result.
Magistrate James Morton said the man’s defence of his daughter was “understandable” but added: “If everybody went and took the law into their own hands and started dishing out punishment as they feel, the place would be chaos”.
He sentenced the man to pay a $300 fine plus $250 compensation to the victim.
No convictions were recorded.
Harjashan Singh – Mama Africa
Harjashan Singh was so drunk the morning of January 16 this year he could not remember spitting on two people after being kicked out of Mama Africa for his intoxication levels.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard Singh was 23 when he spent between $250 to $300 on vodka and tequila on a night out in the safe night precinct.
Prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors said Singh was drunk and stumbling across the dance floor and staff asked him to leave because of his intoxication and behaviour about 2.30am on January 16.
She said as Singh spat on the walls when walking down the stairs and, when at the bottom, spat at a woman, striking her legs.
As he continued walking down the street, Singh spat and hit a security guard who the court heard could feel a wet patch on his back.
Singh pleaded guilty to common assault while adversely affected in a licensed premises, and failing to leave a licensed premises.
Duty solicitor Rosie Varley, acting for Singh, said her client was 23 at the time and was educated to a year 12 level in India before moving to Australia and getting a bachelor’s degree in Victoria.
Now 24, Singh is a full-time restaurant manager in Griffith, New South Wales, who had been in Airlie Beach on holidays.
Ms Varley said Singh’s actions were “very out of character” and while he had “absolutely no recollection” of the night’s events, accepted he did it.
Magistrate James Morton said if Singh’s spit had landed on either the woman or security guard’s face, he would be facing time in jail.
Mr Morton banned Singh from all licensed venues in Airlie Beach for 12 months, and fined him $800.
Singh must also complete 40 hours of community service for each of the two charges of common assault.
Convictions were not recorded.
Matthew Ronald Alan Prebble – Midge Point Tavern
Alleged vandalism at an abandoned Whitsunday resort has been identified as the cause of a seemingly random attack on a father of two buying cigarettes at a local tavern on a Saturday morning.
Matthew Ronald Alan Prebble, 31, struck Nebo mine operator Lee John Hudson in the throat and face as he exited Midge Point Tavern about 11.45am on May 1 in an altercation that ended in a “panicked” Hudson running Prebble down with his car.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard Prebble grabbed Hudson by the throat with one hand and the back of his head with another until a bystander separated the two men.
Hudson later went to Proserpine Hospital via ambulance with bruising to his throat and ribs, “significant” pain and difficulty swallowing.
Prebble pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and allowed his lawyer Elizabeth Smith to provide context around the confrontation, which had started with Prebble asking Hudson: “Did you have fun down at the marina?”.
“He’s currently employed at Laguna Quays [and] part of the role is that he lives on site,” Ms Smith said.
“Because he’s always there at Laguna Quays, he is privy to some of the things that go on there and it’s not uncommon for people to trespass onto the property and commit vandalism or just hoon around the place.
“The victim in this incident he suspected had been at an incident a couple of weeks prior involving some vandalism of the site.
“My client had observed him doing some burnouts on a quad bike and things like that so that gives rise to the circumstances as to why he spoke to him to begin with.”
Ms Smith said Hudson’s injuries were relatively minor whereas Prebble was “effectively run over” in the altercation and had to go to hospital a number of times for injuries to his leg and go on medication for anxiety.
She also said her client had completed a 52-lesson anger management course since the offending.
Acting Magistrate Ron Muirhead accepted there was a “background” to the incident but added that did not justify Prebble’s behaviour.
He fined Prebble $750 with no conviction recorded.
Hudson had been previously sentenced in October for dangerous driving was a $650 fine and six-month licence disqualification, with a conviction recorded.
The Most Dangerous Suburbs in Mackay and the Whitsundays for assault
Statistics taken from the Queensland Police Service for assault offences from March 11, 2021, to March 10, 2022.
1. Mackay – 215
2. Bowen – 107
3. Andergrove – 87
4. Airlie Beach – 83
5. West Mackay – 68
6. South Mackay – 64
7. North Mackay – 62
8. Sarina – 62
9. Shoal Point – 42
10 Slade Point – 42
11. Rural View – 37
12. Bucasia – 33
13. Proserpine – 24
14. Mount Pleasant – 23
15. Eimeo – 22
16. Blacks Beach – 20
17. East Mackay – 18
18. Beaconsfield – 16
19. Jubilee Pocket – 14
20. Walkerston – 14
21 Ooralea – 10
22. Bakers Creek – 10
23. Glenella – 10
24. Mirani – 9
25. Mackay Harbour – 7
26. Marian – 6
27. Eton – 4
28. Seaforth – 3
29. Finch Hatton – 2
30. Midge Point – 1
Originally published as 17 Mackay-Whitsundays pub and club assaults revealed
‘Take your clothes off’: Bail bid after alleged violent kidnapping
A man who was barely one month into his release on bail is accused of being involved in a violent armed robbery and kidnapping where he allegedly ordered the victim to remove his clothes.
‘Unforgivable’: Truckie threatens to kill ambos with compound bow
After a bad break-up, an out-of-work Qld truck driver on a partner Visa to Australia used a chilling method to stop his ex from calling an ambulance to help him.
Girl rushed to hospital following stinging at Cape Hillsborough
The stinger season has claimed its latest victim after a school aged girl was rushed to hospital earlier this afternoon following reports of a jellyfish sting at Cape Hillsborough.
Woman with children in car allegedly recorded .202 reading
Police allege a drink driver who was more than four times the legal limit also fled the scene of a crash on foot, leaving children in her car.
Spotted at Shamrock Hotel with a black eye, later found dead
Three months after the death of an East Mackay man police are pleading for help solving a case. Did you see John Hackett on November 6?
WATCH: Tributes for dad killed by alleged speeding, drink driver
Tributes are pouring in for a Queensland dad, described as “one of the nicest people you could meet” after he was tragically killed when another driver lost control while speeding dangerously. SEE THE VIDEO