Coleen Margaret Mackenzie-Ross in court for common assault

A grandmother has faced court after slapping a security guard across the face. Find out her excuse for committing the assault at a North Rockhampton venue.

Coleen Margaret Mackenzie-Ross appeared in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on March 27, 2023.

A grandmother has faced court for slapping a security guard across the face at the Frenchville Sports Club in North Rockhampton.

Coleen Margaret Mackenzie-Ross, 67, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on March 27 to one count of common assault in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.

The court heard Mackenzie-Ross was refused service at the club on June 4, 2022 after having had a few drinks and was asked to leave.

Magistrate Grace Kahlert said Mackenzie-Ross was being physically removed from the venue by a security guard when she fell and hurt herself.

Ms Kahlert said Mackenzie-Ross then slapped the security guard across the face.

The court heard there was a dispute about how drunk Mackenzie-Ross was.

Defence lawyer Ken Spinaze said his client, who has three children and six grandchildren, had significant mobility issues from the hips down.

“The way she presents would give a waitress or waiter the idea that she was perhaps intoxicated when she wasn’t,” Mr Spinaze said.

He said his client had about four strong drinks that evening.

“She presented as more inebriated than she in fact was which led her to being denied service,” he said.

He said his client was handled by security which caused her to fall “heavily” to the ground and suffer an injury.

He said his client laid on the ground for some time before reaching up and hitting the security officer.

“She did it she says because she was angry at being pushed over and being hurt on her way out,” he said.

“She felt it was unjustified they were excluding her from the hotel when she says she wasn’t as inebriated as she appeared.”

He said his client had suffered injuries in a three-vehicle crash around 2007 where a another driver was travelling at 130 km/h into an intersection.

Ms Kahlert fined Mackenzie-Ross $800.

A criminal conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Coleen Margaret Mackenzie-Ross in court for common assault