Teghan Izard: Launceston airport barista guilty of common assault

A Tasmanian single mum has been sentenced for assaulting a woman after a bizarre incident involving a trolley in a Woolworths carpark. WHAT HAPPENED >>

A Tasmanian airport barista became involved in a heated argument in the carpark of a Woolworths shopping centre which ended up with her pushing her victim onto the ground, a court has heard.

Ravenswood woman Teghan Jade Izard, 24, pleaded guilty in Launceston Magistrates Court on Tuesday to a charge of common assault.

The assault occurred in the carpark of Woolworths Kings Meadows at 11.05am on May 5 last year.

The court heard Izard became involved in an argument with her victim after Izard’s sister lost control of her trolley, which gathered speed before crashing into a parked vehicle.

The victim believed Izard and her sister, against whom there were no charges laid, were going to leave the scene without providing their details to the owner of the vehicle.

After the confrontation became heated, with Izard telling the woman to “mind her own business”, the defendant pushed her victim hard to the chest with both hands, causing the woman to fall backward onto the ground.

Breaking News Breaking News Ravenswood barista Teghan Jade Izard, 24. Picture: Alex Treacy

It was submitted on Izard’s behalf by her defence lawyer that the defendant and her sister had in fact attempted to wait for the vehicle’s owner, and Izard’s sister was in the process of speaking with them, when the victim returned to berate Izard.

The court heard the victim was “talking loudly” over everyone and got “right in” Izard’s face, which precipitated the push.

Izard, a single mother who works as a barista at a franchise located at Launceston Airport, had no previous criminal history.

Magistrate Sharon Cure described the assault as a “nasty incident in public” and said Izard had made a “bad decision”.

She fined the defendant $500 and did not record a conviction, on the basis it was Izard’s first time before the court and she would lose her job if a conviction was recorded.