Central Qld’s violent incidents of 2023 exposed
From women punching on in the street to barmaids and publicans getting beat up, Central Queensland has seen some shocking cases of violence in 2023.
Police & Courts
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Pub brawlers and street fighters have faced Central Queensland courts in numbers in 2023, with most of the violence fuelled by alcohol.
Here are the most shocking bust-ups in Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Gladstone, Calliope, Biloela and Moura.
Pub and club brawlers
Ethan Samuel Saltner, 23
Saltner followed a patron into the toilet at a Biloela pub and punched him in the face while shouting.
Before the attack, Saltner had “continuously” called the victim names and also called his girlfriend “a slut.”
The victim suffered a split ear, swollen face, and his upper and lower lips were busted.
Saltner pleaded guilty in Biloela Magistrates Court to common assault and was placed on six months’ probation, ordered to pay $250 compensation to the victim, and a conviction was recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Gattlain Unger, 32
Unger, a ship captain, violently attacked a man at a Yeppoon pub in a love triangle fight.
The male victim was at The Railway Hotel with friends when he saw Unger out on the street and raised both arms, gesturing for Unger to come to him.
Unger then approached the victim, who was sitting on a bar stool.
Unger had a short conversation with the victim and said words to the effect of: “I’m here to kill you, c---”, before immediately throwing two punches towards the victim’s head.
Unger pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm and public nuisance in the vicinity of a licensed premises.
He was fined $1500 and no conviction was recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Jaylon Wayne Messer, 23
Messer was at The Goat nightclub in Rockhampton when he punched another man in the face, splitting his lip.
Messer pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.
The court heard that Messer “could offer no real explanation for why he behaved as he did.”
Messer was sentenced to six months’ jail wholly suspended for 12 months, ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid community service, pay $700 compensation to the victim and convictions were recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Daniel James Stark, 33
Stark got into a fight with other men at a Gladstone region pub and in the process, a barmaid was injured and had to have a week off work.
The victim was a 59-year-old female employee at Calliope’s Railway Hotel Motel, who was attempting to get patrons to leave the venue when an intoxicated Stark, involved in a physical fight between his group of workmates and another group of men, “inadvertently” knocked her into a dry bar.
The worker sustained bruising to her ribs and arm.
Stark pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm and public nuisance in the vicinity of a licensed premises.
He was fined $1800, ordered to pay $1000 compensation to the victim, banned from the Railway Hotel Motel Calliope for 12 months, with convictions recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Quinn Stuart Stover, 20,
Stover, an emerging Central Queensland rugby league star, paid a heavy price for a night of drunken violence which his lawyer described as a “brain snap.”
Stover pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm – a charge stemming from a drunken night out which led to the apprentice carpenter’s sacking from the Capras team.
Stover and the male victim were at The Strand Hotel, Yeppoon, when they had a conversation which led to Stover “offering” to go outside and fight.
The victim told Stover that he did not want to fight.
When the hotel closed, the victim was walking on Normanby St when Stover again approached him and in an unprovoked attack, Stover punched him in the mouth, causing his two front teeth to break.
Stover was ordered to perform 200 hours of unpaid community service, pay $4452.50 compensation to the victim, and no conviction was recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Tully Jon Barritt, 20
A night of drunken madness cost talented rugby league player Barritt his spot with the Central Queensland Capras but his punishment did not end there.
After a security guard attempted to escort Barritt from The Strand Hotel at Yeppoon, Barritt threw a series of punches, striking the security guard twice in the face.
During his arrest, Barritt said to police, words to the effect of: “You c---s are a f---ing joke, honestly, you’re a f---ing joke.”
Barritt called the police officers “f---heads” and made comments about “bashing the f---” out of them.
He was fined $1642 and ordered to perform 115 hours of unpaid community service, with no convictions recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Robert Leslie Moore, 53
Moore jumped over the bar and assaulted Rockhampton’s Ascot Hotel owner Will Cordwell and then threw bottles of alcohol at him.
Moore also assaulted police and a nurse at Rockhampton Hospital.
Moore pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Magistrates Court to numerous charges including four counts of assault and he was sentenced to 12 months’ jail with 71 days pre-sentence custody declared, and given a parole release date.
Read the full story HERE.
Jaiden Michael Wessling, 22, and Jorja Lorelle Jean Dwyer, 21
Wessling and Dwyer violently attacked a duty manager at Moura’s Coal ‘n’ Cattle Hotel and were given suspended jail terms.
When police arrived at the assault scene, an ambulance was already there and the duty manager, aged in his 50s, was on a stretcher with “several visible injuries to his head and face”.
Wessling and Dwyer pleaded guilty in Biloela Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm in company.
Wessling received nine months’ jail, suspended for 18 months, and he was ordered to pay $600 compensation to the victim.
Dwyer was sentenced to six months’ jail, suspended for 12 months, and she was ordered to pay $400 compensation to the victim.
Both had convictions recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Angus Ramsay Boyd, 40
Boyd threw the first blow in a beer garden punch-up at Yeppoon’s Strand Hotel.
When police arrived at the venue, Boyd was outside “shirtless and bleeding from the mouth.”
He was also later refused admission to hospital because of his “appalling” behaviour where he yelled and swore at hospital staff.
Boyd pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to public nuisance in the vicinity of a licensed premises and creating a disturbance on health services land.
He was fined $1500, banned from The Strand Hotel for 12 months, and no convictions were recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Murray Douglas Watkinson, 46
Watkinson was at Yeppoon’s Railway Hotel when he became fixated on another male patron, advanced towards him, and put his head against the other man’s head.
The other man walked away in a bid to “de-escalate” the situation, but Watkinson followed him outside and hit him in the stomach and face.
Watkinson returned inside and punched the gaming room door multiple times, causing significant damage.
Watkinson pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to common assault while intoxicated in the vicinity of a licensed premises and wilful damage.
He was placed on probation for nine months, ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid community service, banned from Capricorn Coast licensed premises for 12 months, and ordered to pay $2061.17 restitution. No convictions were recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Carol Ellena Thomas, 55
Thomas, a registered nurse, punched her ex-girlfriend twice in the mouth, on the dancefloor at a Gladstone nightclub.
Thomas was at Mieplace Niteclub when she saw her ex-girlfriend on the dancefloor with another woman.
Thomas approached the victim, threw a cup of water on her, and punched her twice in the mouth inflicting a split lip.
Thomas pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm in public while intoxicated (domestic violence offence).
She was ordered to perform 60 hours of unpaid community service, pay $500 compensation to the victim, and no conviction was recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Street fighters
Megan Martin, 25
Martin, an off-duty Biloela barmaid, continued punching a woman she had thrown to the ground, in an alcohol-fuelled attack after a party.
Martin and the female victim were at a party at the Biloela Bowls Club.
After the victim left the party, Martin followed her.
The pair then had a conversation before Martin attacked, pulling the victim’s hair, punching her in the head “a number of times” and causing her to fall to the ground.
While the victim was on the ground, Martin continued punching.
Martin pleaded guilty in Biloela Magistrates Court to assault occasioning bodily harm and she was placed on six months’ probation with no conviction recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Dakota Ieshia Atkinson, 21
Atkinson bashed another woman in a violent Gladstone street fight outside a nightclub.
Atkinson and the female victim were involved in a heated argument on Gladstone’s Goondoon St before Atkinson punched her in the head “multiple times”.
Atkinson also punched the victim numerous times while she was in the foetal position on the ground.
Atkinson pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court to common assault and she was fined $500 with no conviction recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Ariana Tiariki Tereina Ihaka-Rimene, 24
Ihaka-Rimene was involved in an early morning street fight across the road from The Strand Hotel at Yeppoon.
When police got there, they saw Ihaka-Rimene had a hold of someone’s shirt and officers separated the pair.
The incident came after Ihaka-Rimene was evicted from the hotel.
He pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to trespass and public nuisance in the vicinity of a licensed premises and was fined $500 and banned from The Strand Hotel for 12 months with no convictions recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
Hayden Jon Vock, 28
Vock punched another man in the street at Gladstone after a verbal altercation turned violent.
Vock “jammed” the victim up against the steering wheel of his car, ripped the victim’s shirt and punched him in the lip which was lacerated by the blow.
Vock pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court to common assault and was fined $700 with a conviction recorded.
Read the full story HERE.
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