Mackay and Whitsunday’s badly behaved parents of 2024
From bestiality to serious drug crimes, serious assault or causing terrible crashes, meet the Mackay and Whitsunday parents whose bad behaviour landed them in court for different reasons in 2024.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
From bestiality to serious drug crimes, serious assault or causing terrible crashes, meet the Mackay and Whitsunday parents whose bad behaviour landed them in court in 2024.
CONVICTIONS RECORDED
Crystal May Hoare
A Sarina mum had sex with two dogs while her partner filmed the vile act.
Police learned about Crystal May Hoare’s offending when she went to officers in relation to a different matter and came across some text messages including one that read: “Don’t worry no one is going to see my dog f---ing you”.
Mackay District Court heard Hoare engaged in penile intercourse with the two dogs.
She pleaded guilty to three counts of bestiality that occurred in on October 18, 2021, June 6, 2022 and October 25, 2022.
She was placed on two years probation and convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Shae-Lee Brooke Finney
A young, pregnant mother unleashed a violent attack on a teen girl that included “stomping on her” and slicing her leg and arm with a box cutter in a brazen assault.
The “absolutely terrifying” home invasion-type assault happened in the early hours of July 5, 2023 at a Sophia St unit complex as Shae-Lee Brooke Finney was confronting her 19-year-old victim over allegations the teen had slept with Finney’s partner, Mackay District Court heard.
The 25 year old had driven to the victim’s home, and used “friendliness” to get inside the unit after which she twice wounded the teen “slicing (her) with a box cutter”, Crown prosecutor Matthew Sutton said.
“You then slashed her leg with a box cutter that you had,” Judge Jennifer Rosengren said, adding Finney then went about “stomping (on her) while she’s defenceless on the ground”.
Finney pleaded guilty to burglary in the night while armed and in company, and two counts each of wounding and common assault over the 3am attack. Her partner has not been charged over the attack.
She was jailed for four years with parole eligibility in July 2024 after spending 12 months in jail. Convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Tiahrnie Jade Davis
A young mother who “encouraged” her friend to violently assault a teen including slashing her with a box cutter during a home invasion will not have to spend any more time in jail for her role.
Tiahrnie Jade Davis, 26, had been at the Sophie St complex when heavily pregnant Shae-Lee Finney first confronted her 19-year-old victim before attacking her including grabbing her by the throat with both hands and squeezing, stomping on her while she was on the ground and slicing her on the arm and leg with a box cutter.
Finney pleaded guilty to burglary in the night while armed and two counts each of wounding and common assault over the 3am assault and was jailed for four years with parole eligibility in July 2024.
Davis had been charged because her “presence at the scene was an active encouragement for the commission of the offence”, the court heard.
Davis pleaded guilty to burglary at night and two counts of assault, and spent almost eight months in custody on remand.
She was jailed for 18 months immediately suspended and convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Matthew Joshua Hayes
A Mackay region father launched a menacing assault brandishing a machete and threatening a group of neighbours who confronted his sons over burnouts on their local beach.
The 40-year-old mine worker went from house to house, gripping the weapon and provoking fear in his victims.
It all started about 8.30pm on June 25, 2023 when a number of Greenhill residents heard a vehicle doing burnouts on the nearby beach, confronted several juveniles and took the battery from the vehicle.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard the children, who are not accused of any wrongdoing, returned home and told their father Matthew Joshua Hayes they had been “accosted, assaulted and the battery stolen”.
So he got a machete from his shed and drove to the Greenhill St, seeking out who had taken the battery. He confronted several people and even held up the machete and swung it at several residents.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of common assault and going armed to cause fear and was given 200 hours community service to be completed in 12 months in lieu of a jail term. Convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Monica Lou Lawton
A Mackay mum with a horrendous criminal history has had even more jail time added to her tally after she was busted for her latest crime spree that involved break and enters and stolen cars.
For Monica Lou Lawton the courthouse is a revolving door where she has been slapped time and time again with jail terms totalling more than 18 years for her repeat criminal behaviour.
Mackay Magistrates Court her criminal rap sheet included 27 entries for stealing, 18 for burglary type offences and 13 for enter premises.
And she has now added another 11 entries after a recent crime spree committed between May and July 2024 across Mackay, including entering a woman’s LLoyds St home, stealing her handbag and phone and trying to take her car keys and stealing from various businesses.
Lawton pleaded guilty to the 11 offences. She was jailed for 22 months, cumulative to an earlier sentence, with parole eligibility on June 26, 2025. Convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Anthony Fedele
A Mackay father has overreacted and broken a man’s cheekbone in a one punch attack after he was threatened in a taxi rank following a night out in the Whitsundays.
CCTV captured Anthony Fedele landing the punch on a stranger’s face after the stranger had threatened to “punch or flog” him, in the early hours of February 19, 2022 at Airlie Beach.
Mackay District Court heard the then 29 year old had been with friends at the taxi rank when the victim and another man had approached them and things “became heated” between Fedele and the unknown male.
The unknown man walked away, but there was an argument between Fedele and the victim who was threatening “to punch or flog you”.
The court heard in response Fedele punched him causing the victim to fall to the ground before going off in a taxi – the victim’s injuries included a cheekbone fracture that needed titanium screws to be surgically inserted.
Fedele pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and was being sentenced on the basis his assault was an “overreaction to the threat” by the victim.
He was jailed for 18 months, wholly suspended for two years, and ordered to pay $5000 compensation. A conviction was recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Anthony Troy Deller
A Sarina father of three who was offered a home with a mate of 20 years after his release from jail exploded in anger one day after a fight, bashing his long-term friend with a spiked wooden plank.
The spur of the moment attack on November 19, 2023 left the victim with cuts, puncture wounds and a fractured elbow.
Anthony Troy Deller had known his victim for two decades and had been offered a room at his Sarina home 10 weeks before the assault after the 33 year old had been released on parole.
But after the pair had words Deller hit the victim with a piece of wood with “several nails sticking out of it” and hit the victim twice, once on the arm and once to the head causing injuries including fracturing his arm.
Deller pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrates Court to assault causing bodily harm. He was jailed for 18 months, cumulative to another jail terms, with parole eligibility in July 2024. A conviction was recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Chloe Victoria Smith
A Mackay lash technician and mum of three turned meth trafficker walked free from jail after a magistrate granted her bail on an alleged violent home invasion.
And she was able to claim back expensive property including jewellery, a Rolex watch and Gucci wallet previously held by police on the suspicion of being drug proceeds.
The 31-year-old even has plans to restart her beauty business and reconnect with her children.
Chloe Victoria Smith spent eight months of a three-year term behind bars for her role in her then partner Reece William Luscombe’s meth trafficking business. He was jailed for nine years. Her parole release date was May 8.
Smith appeared in Mackay Magistrates Court via videolink to deal with a number of outstanding charges linked to that offending period including refusing to give police access to her phone, possessing $15,000 cash, two luxury watches and a vial of gold flakes suspected of being drug proceeds. She pleaded guilty to 19 charges.
And it was submitted and agreed that Smith had already spent enough time in jail.
She was jailed for 12 months with parole release and convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Courtney Rebecca Simmons
A Mackay mother’s momentary recklessness while driving has resulted in lifelong injuries and “substantial suffering” for another family.
Until this moment Courtney Rebecca Simmons (nee Van Damme) had an exemplary record and but for this was an “outstanding” community member, Mackay Magistrates Court heard.
Tragically because of her actions on August 18, 2023, a young man will be on life support for the rest of his life.
She had been driving a Hyundai Palisade and was approaching the intersection of Perry Rd and the Bruce Highway at Alligator Creek when she made a grave error.
“You looked right and looked left, you didn’t look right again,” Magistrate Damian Dwyer said.
“You didn’t see the oncoming car … so you pulled out (on the highway).”
Simmons, who pleaded guilty to driving without due care or attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road causing grievous bodily harm, was jailed for four months, wholly suspended for 12 months.
She was banned from driving for nine months and a conviction was recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Sam Hennessy
A meth-trafficking mum has learned she will not have to go back to jail after a supreme court judge agreed it would undo all her rehabilitative efforts.
Sam Hennessy had been peddling methylamphetamines to 13 customers for just more than one month between December 2021 and February 2023 in South Mackay.
Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said this marked a significant escalation in her criminal conduct given her criminal history.
Mackay Supreme Court heard aged 27, she ran a wholesale trafficking business, supplying meth 23 times in quantities from one gram to a half ball with the price ranging from $400 to $800.
It was accepted most sales were at street level but a concerning aspect involved trafficking larger amounts to at least four customers she knew planned to onsell the dangerous drug.
Hennessy pleaded guilty to trafficking and was jailed for 3.5 years, suspended after 80 days pre sentence custody which was declared as time already served. The suspended sentence will hang over her head for four years. A conviction was recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Scott James MacPherson
A violent offender who once stabbed a childhood mate seven times for no reason has been given immediate parole for assaulting his sister and breaking her jaw.
Mackay District Court heard the 42 year old, who lost his thumb in a prison injury, had already spent more than a year in custody over the unprovoked attack in late 2023 at Slade Point that occurred after his sibling had asked him to move out.
Mackay father of one Scott James MacPherson “lost it” and punched her in the face before standing over her as he “continued to be enraged by her request”, Ms Sheppard said.
As a result of the single punch she suffered a broken jaw and had to go to Townsville for surgery that included plates and screws being inserted in her face.
MacPherson pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm on November 12, 2023.
He was jailed for three years with immediate parole and convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Madison Elizabeth Lamb
A Mackay mum of two tried to extort $300 over a stolen motorbike and threatened to “come and take what’s owed” if the owner didn’t pay up.
The victim had posted on a local Facebook group about his stolen motorbike offering a reward for anyone who came forward to help find it.
Then 23, Madison Elizabeth Lamb sent him a message in September 2022 claiming she would tell him who stole his bike if he paid her the reward.
She insisted he pay her first — but Lamb also tried to sell the motorbike for half a ball of meth to two others.
Mackay District Court heard she did provide some information, that “led to the extortion” with Lamb sending the victim a number of threatening messages.
“I’m not someone you want to f--- around either; send be $300 now and I’ll tell you who paid for it; don’t pay up and you’ll find out what happens”.
She pleaded guilty to extortion on September 28, and two counts of dishonestly applying the motorbike to her own use and supplying meth on September 25.
She was jailed for six month wholly suspended for nine months and convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Kashya Ann Poyner
A woman involved in the bizarre theft and abduction of a teen girl on a Tinder date broke down in tears after learning she would go free from custody after more than 18 months on remand.
Kashya Ann Poyner was involved in the “terrifying” incident where she and two men – wearing balaclavas and one armed with a cane knife – set on the duo at Mackay Harbour car park, demanding cash and phones, and prompting the girl’s date to drive off and leave her with the trio.
The couple were on a first date when, about midnight, Poyner approached in a vehicle and “parked them in”, before co-accused Aaron James Davis walked up holding the cane knife and said “where’s your money, where’s your phone”, Mackay District Court heard.
Poyner also yelled at them “don’t move the f***ing car”.
The victim, an 18-year-old girl, had got out of her date’s car when Davis approached.
The court heard her date drove off and called triple-0 leaving the girl in the car park with Poyner and an armed Davis.
Poyner, a 28-year-old mum, pleaded guilty to demanding property with menaces - she had already spent 515 days on remand.
She was jailed for 258 days with immediate parole released after time already served.
A conviction was recorded.
Davis had also pleaded guilty to the same charged and received 258 days jail.
FULL STORY HERE
Vanessa Lee Stringer
A soon-to-be grandmother returned to court for the second time in two years after she was caught supplying a small quantity of meth.
Vanessa Lee Stringer, 46, appeared in Mackay District Court on September 13 after being charged with possession of meth and supplying drugs.
Stringer previously appeared in the Mackay Magistrates Court on fraud charges after she was found in possession of drugs and stolen items which she then sold.
Stringer’s latest offences began while she was on parole for previous drug offences when, on September 27, 2023 she was charged with possessing and distributing approximately 0.1 gram of meth, after police executed two searches at her home.
She pleaded guilty to all charges.
Stringer was sentenced to a suspended imprisonment of 15 months with a probation period of two years attached and convictions were recorded for each charge.
FULL STORY HERE
Grant Raymond Evans
A father of two who said he was trying to recover his rental bond, travelled to a Glenella property, broke in and stole a washer and dryer.
Grant Raymond Evans was arrested by police three days after the break in and found himself in Mackay Magistrates Court.
“People’s houses are their castles,” Magistrate Damien Dwyer told Evans.
“If you want to go out walking around some street in Mackay looking for a washing machine and dryer to knock off because you’re moving house then you pay the penalty.”
The court heard police were called to the house in question on June 27 at 8.45am after receiving a complaint an unknown suspect unlawfully entered the property and stole a washer and dryer from the downstairs area.
CCTV footage from a neighbouring property captured a green KIA Sportage and police were able to identify Evans as the male driver.
Evans pleaded guilty to all charges. He was ordered to pay $600 in restitution to the victim and complete 180 hours of unpaid community service. Convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Sarah Elizabeth Spry
A mother of three on a “slippery slope to nowhere” has been caught with underwear from Best N Less in her bag by police.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard Sarah Elizabeth Spry was shopping at the Caneland Central store on December 8 when she stashed a red set of lingerie in her handbag.
Police prosecutor Leonie Taufa’ao said staff alerted police officers who then took the Sarina mother to the centre’s Police Beat to search her handbag.
Along with the $18 of underwear still attached to the coathanger, officers found a large plastic blender and containers with 1.16g of mixed marijuana and tobacco as well as marijuana stems.
Spry pleaded guilty to possession of utensils used in connection with a dangerous drug, unauthorised dealing with shop goods of $150 or less, contravening a police requirement or direction, and two counts of possession of dangerous drugs.
Mr Dwyer fined her $1200 and recorded convictions for all charges excluding the unauthorised dealing with shop goods.
FULL STORY HERE
Dean Anthony Thompson
A father of two who drank about five beers while fishing could have jumped into the passenger’s seat of his wife’s car.
Instead he got into his own, and kept drinking before causing a serious crash.
Seven minutes into the drive home along Hay Point Rd shortly before 6pm, Dean Anthony Thompson - with a 0.109BAC - looked down to change radio stations and his ute veered across double white lanes, crashing into a Holden Rodeo.
Mackay District Court heard Shannon Pacher was inside that Rodeo on June 5, 2022, his face thrust into the steering wheel as the airbags failed to deploy.
Crown prosecutor Shannon Sutherland said Mr Pacher, who had been driving to work at Hay Point Coal Terminal about 35 minutes from Mackay, suffered “catastrophic injuries”.
She said he was “essentially unconscious” and heavily bleeding while trapped in the driver’s seat as Thompson phoned tripled-0 and held his victim’s head up to help him breathe.
The court heard Thompson had 17 prior entries for speeding, had drunk-drove in 2003 with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15, and in late 2021, he had failed to leave his contact details after crashing into another car.
Thompson pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death or grievous bodily harm while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance as well as possession of dangerous drugs.
He was jailed for 3.5 years, to be suspended after 12 months, with a four year operational period. His licence was disqualified for three years, and recorded convictions.
FULL STORY HERE
Lisa Anne Catlin
A mother of six has faced court after she failed to report as per her duties as a registered child sex offender.
Lisa Anne Catlin pleaded guilty to failing to report on March 1 as per conditions under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard it was the first time the Alligator Creek mother had failed to report since July 2021.
It was not mentioned in court why Catlin became a registered child sex offender as she was supported in court by her support worker and co-ordinator.
Catlin was fined $300 and a conviction was recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Stacie Renee Dutaillis
A Mackay mum jailed for manslaughter faced court again for giving two other kids opioids, one of whom called the ambulance the night a 15 year old fatally overdosed.
Stacie Renee Dutaillis was sentenced in Rockhampton Supreme Court to seven years in prison after her prescription tramadol pills caused the death of Jerome Banu in September 2021.
She later faced Mackay Magistrates Court for supplying two other teens with restricted medicine, to which she pleaded guilty.
Dutaillis’ parole eligibility date is set at August 26, 2024, after 603 days pre-sentence custody deemed as time served.
For supplying the teens with restricted medicine Dutaillis had convictions recorded and was not further punished.
FULL STORY HERE
Carmen Leigh Shadbolt
A Mackay mum of three with a chequered past fell back into old ways and made the mistake of trying to hide her friend’s drugs when they were pulled over.
Carmen Leigh Shadbolt was a passenger in a car pulled over on April 7, 2023 when police found two clipseal bags of meth in her bra - with 1.63g and 3.46g of substance of about 74 per cent purity.
Her barrister Scott Moon said the drugs had not been hers, but she had made the “silly decision” to accept them when another occupant of the car handed them to her.
Mackay Supreme Court heard Shadbolt had made positive changes in her life since a previous sentence for setting fire to home she was renting from family while high on ice.
For possessing dangerous drug Shadbolt was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended with immediate parole.
Convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Jaymee Lye Ahwang
A Mackay mum has pleaded guilty to serious assault of a police officer causing bodily harm after she sprayed two in the eyes with a mystery chemical.
Mackay District Court heard police were called on July 10, 2023 to attend to Jaymee Lye Ahwang, who callers described as “drug-affected” and dangerously stepping out onto Slade Point Road.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher said when the two officers arrived and decided to detain Ahwang, she attempted to flee into a property and squirted them both in the eyes with a spray bottle.
“She picked up a bottle that had some chemicals in it, we don’t know what they were, but it had a strong chemical odour, and she sprayed the bottle a number of times towards the police and it hit both of them in the eyes,” Ms Gallagher said.
Ahwang was sentenced to five months imprisonment, suspended for six months with convictions recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Selena Jean Thomson
A young mum stole clothes multiple times from St Vincent de Paul charity donation bins in a series of offences following her relapse into drug use.
Mackay Magistrate Court heard Selena Jean Thomson was initially “opportunistic” when she first ransacked the Cannonvale Vinnies on December 10, 2023, but she returned twice more on December 17 and 23 despite being on parole.
Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said Thomson “targeted” the charity shop before her offending “spiralled” in the New Year when she defrauded Bunnings Airlie Beach by hiding a $500+ power inverter in a bag of mulch to steal it on February 4, 2024.
Thomson pleaded guilty to three counts of stealing, fraud, possession of suspected stolen property, possession of drug utensils, and meth possession.
Thomson was given a head sentence of nine months imprisonment with a full time release date on June 28, after which she was ordered to complete community service and pay $549 restitution to Bunnings.
FULL STORY HERE
Wayne John Stavrow
A Mackay dad repeatedly breached court orders made to keep his partner safe and drunkenly assaulted her before threatening her with a tomahawk just inches from her face.
Wayne John Stavrow punched his long-term partner in the head and damaged her property before she fled the address on March 8, 2024, Mackay Magistrates Court heard.
“This offending is escalating,” Magistrate Damien Dwyer warned.
“Between December 2023 and March 2024 he has five domestic violence offences, all involving violence and, indeed, the last one on March 8 was an escalation because not only did it involve violence, it involved a threat with a tomahawk.”
Stavrow pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, wilful damage, obstructing a police officer, and a bail breach.
Stavrow was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with a parole release date on September 16 after 82 days pre-sentence custody were declared time served.
FULL STORY HERE
Rhen Eric Francis Soden
A father-of-four blamed ‘bad influences’ in his family after being caught selling more than 100kg of ‘bright and shiny’ copper, freshly stolen from a mine.
Rhen Eric Francis Soden, 35, admitted to selling stolen copper to a recycler twice in 2023 in the Proserpine Magistrate Courts.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors said the first theft had been reported at an address on Dysart Middlemount Rd on June 1, 2023.
The padlock on a shipping container had been broken into, with two rolls of 50m copper strapping stolen as well as two rolls of copper wire.
Soden had then gone to Dysart Recyclers the next day selling 52kg of ‘bright and shiny” copper wiring and 67kg of bright copper strapping which he got paid $950 for.
Soden pleaded guilty to Proserpine Magistrates Court receiving tainted property.
He was sentenced to a term of seven months imprisonment wholly suspended for a period of 18 months.
FULL STORY HERE
Amber Josephine Flack
A Whitsundays mother-to-be has claimed her pregnancy “made [her] change” despite facing multiple charges for taking part in a spree of break and enters she continued to do while on bail.
Amber Josephine Flack faced Bowen Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where the court heard a list of various break and enters she took part in from August last year.
The crime spree spanned early August to late September and included breaking into a home and stealing items including a Commonwealth bank card she then used on six different occasions in Bowen for a total sum of $1352 and damaging a car parked at a hospital.
Flack was also charged with drug related charges, fails to appear, driving unlicensed or failing to stop her vehicle when asked by police.
Flack pleaded guilty in Bowen Magistrates Court to 16 charges, was jailed for 24 months with parole eligibility in October 2024 and disqualified from driving for six months. Convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
CONVICTIONS NOT RECORDED
Victor James Tetley
A Mackay father of three filmed himself having sex with a dog and then sent that video to a random teen over social media.
Victor James Tetley, 36, tried to shield his face with his hat as he hurried from Mackay courthouse after details of his “repulsive” conduct was revealed.
Then 34, he had sex with a dog on September, 15 2022 – his excuse was that he was going through a rough time and had been drinking, a court heard.
Two months later he sent a video he had taken of the act to a 19-year-old woman he did not know but had been speaking to over Snapchat for a couple of days.
She told New South Wales police, who told Queensland police and as a result officers searched Tetley’s phone and found the vile film.
He was arrested.
Tetley, who had no criminal history, pleaded guilty to one count of bestiality involving penile intercourse with a dog. The court heard it was a very early plea.
He was placed on two years probation and a conviction was not recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Abigail Isabell Spooner
A young Mackay mum was the passenger in a stolen ute when the joy ride ended in a traffic crash with an unmarked police car, seriously injuring two officers.
Abigail Isabell Spooner “didn’t really think” about where her parolee former boyfriend Reece Stuart William Hogg had allegedly gotten his hands on a grey LandCruiser ute when he picked her up from Ilbilbie on April 13, 2024.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard the ute had been reported stolen from a Nebo address the day before.
The 22-year-old mum of one had been in the passenger side when the ute towing an excavator, also alleged to have been stolen, was involved in a crash at Rockview, north of Rockhampton, about 9pm.
Two male highway patrol officers were seriously injured in the crash.
She pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrates Court to unlawful use of a motor vehicle, was fined $1500 and a conviction was not recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Kyle Rhys White
A young dad still coming to grips with a devastating, life changing illness lashed out putting someone in a chokehold and repeatedly punching in an alcohol-fuelled assault.
After learning he had “effectively been given a death sentence” at age 25, former stone mason Kyle Rhys White lost his job and he lost his relationship.
The 30-year-old, who was diagnosed with silicosis, had been managing his emotions with alcohol and on July 14, 2023 things went too far after another man insulted his appearance, Mackay Magistrates Court heard.
The pair had been drinking at a Mackay hotel when the incident occurred and involved White pushing the victim against a fence, putting him in a chokehold and punching him up “10 times or so”, the court heard.
There were no injuries sustained and White pleaded guilty to common assault.
He was placed on a six-month probation order and a conviction was not recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Ben Barba
A disgraced NRL superstar turned local league player and part time scaffolder was told he needed to set an example following a drunken incident at a nightclub.
Ben Barba, 35, appeared in Mackay Magistrates Court to be sentenced for pushing a nightclub bouncer on July 7, 2024.
Barba was at the Rabbit Hole nightclub in the early hours of the Sunday, he was asked to leave by a member of the venue’s security team around 3am.
The court heard Barba pushed the bouncer, who landed on his wrist.
He pleaded guilty to public nuisance, failure to leave licensed premises and being removed from a licensed premises.
Barba was fined $2515 and convictions were not recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Jacqueline Maree Gilliam
A young Nebo mother and dump truck operator pulled over for driving unlicensed tried to run away from and assaulted police, before her texts showed she had tried to sell meth and stolen guns.
Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said Jacqueline Maree Gilliam had been a “law abiding citizen for 29 years” before a relationship break down sent her down a dark path towards drugs and criminality.
The now-30 year old pleaded guilty to receiving tainted property, assaulting an officer, obstructing an officer, ignoring an officer’s direction, possessing dangerous drugs, supplying dangerous drugs, unlawfully supplying weapons, possessing drug utensils, trespassing, and driving with a license disqualified by court order.
Ms Hartigan said it was in the best interest of the community that Gilliam rehabilitate herself and sentenced her to a 12 month probation period with no convictions recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
Brooke Lee Hargrave
A modelling and deportment school coach who hit a police officer with a handbag during drunken hen’s party celebrations has been sentenced.
Mackay mum Brooke Lee Hargrave nee Thompson has run Brooke Lee Modelling and Deportment School in Slade Point, Mackay, since 2011, but her lawyer described her as a “drunken pest” when she tried to get in between cops and her husband.
Salt Legal director Darren Robinson said Ms Hargrave had a “combative exchange” with police outside Confessions Nightclub on Victoria Street at 2.43am.
“She had been drinking throughout the day (as) part of a bridal party for her best friend at Ocean International,” Mr Robinson said.
“Not her character to be consuming alcohol all day (and had) mixed her drinks wine and vodka.”
Mackay Magistrates Court heard her plead guilty to obstruct police and assault police on July 21, 2024.
Ms Hargrave was given a good behaviour bond and no convictions were recorded.
FULL STORY HERE
More Coverage
Originally published as Mackay and Whitsunday’s badly behaved parents of 2024
Stolen firearms missing after skateboard used to pinch safe
A burglar who used a skateboard to slide a safe out of a Queensland home was caught with his fingerprints at the scene — but multiple stolen guns are still in the community for Christmas.
‘Persons of interest’: Cops probe musician’s homicide
Mackay detectives are investigating two alleged homicides, the death of a local musician and a man who may have been attacked on Melbourne Cup day.
Thieves leave trail of destruction after brazen break ins
Thieves have smashed their way into four North Qld businesses in the early hours of Christmas Eve, as police call on the public for help.
Teens busted in stolen Hyundai at servo had 25 prior offences
Two juveniles busted exiting a stolen car at a Mackay petrol station have fronted court with 25 prior unlawful use of motor vehicle offences between them.
‘Then I’m sliced’: Police investigating alleged wounding incident
Whetu Tokotaua said he initially did not realise he had been sliced open after a clash at a popular Central Queensland pub. WARNING: Confronting images
One teen stable, another discharged after Marlborough crash
A 12-year-old boy was critically injured on December 22 after he was flung from a vehicle in a horror crash involving a caravan between Mackay and Rockhampton, the second in the same area in barely three weeks.