Jaymi Shay Cook sentenced after aggravated assault in Mackay CBD

CCTV captured a two-on-one attack as two women pulled the victim to the ground by her hair before hitting and punching her near a popular Mackay nightclub — all over a misunderstanding over a phone.

Jaymi Shay Cook appeared in Mackay Magistrates Court on August 8, 2021. Picture: Contributed

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.

Prosecutor Chelsea Pearson said the assault was a “gratuitous display of violence” made worse by the fact it was two on one, and it wasn’t Cook’s only violent offence.

The court heard there was confusion between the parties with the victim asserting she was handing the phone in to bar staff while Cook believed the phone was being stolen.

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.

The court heard police officers were called to a fight involving “several people” near a kebab shop on March 9 at 12.40am where an intoxicated Cook “swung a punch and struck another person”.

Ms Pearson said police attempted to take Cook into custody for being a public nuisance but said she had been “extremely belligerent” and continued to swear at police.

The court heard Cook went to the ground refusing to walk and told police to “carry me then, carry me”.

Cook’s friends escorted her out of court. Picture: Lillian Watkins

The court heard she obstructed police multiple times, “flailing her legs around” to force police to move to avoid being struck once back at the watch-house.

As police took her to a cell, she “reached back and grabbed a constable’s arm” and was warned to release it but “continued to hold his arm and scream abuse at him”.

As the constable tried to release her grip on him, she used her other hand to hit him on the head.

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 which she was now receiving treatment for.

Reference letter: ‘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’.

The court heard Cook had been exposed to her father’s undiagnosed bipolar from a young age and had only recently emerged from a violent relationship when her first assault happened.

Justice 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.

Originally published as Jaymi Shay Cook sentenced after aggravated assault in Mackay CBD