A MINYIP woman has escaped a heavy fine after abusing police during an incident in 2021.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nicole Jones, 30, of Minyip, appeared before the Horsham Magistrates' Court on November 30, where she pleaded guilty to hindering a police officer and behaving in an offensive manner in public.
The court heard that on Monday, April 5, 2021, police had arrived at a Minyip residence with Jones' 15-year-old nephew in the back of the police vehicle.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Police had gone to the residence to get Jones' mother, Sharon, to accompany the 15-year-old to the station.
Jones then came outside and became verbally aggressive to the police officers, calling them "dogs" and other slurs. She then went to the rear side door of the police and attempted to open the door.
During the hearing, defence counsel Sharon Leffler said Jones could see how distressed her nephew was in the police car.
"He was very upset and crying in the back of the van," Ms Leffler said.
Ms Leffler said Jones had realised she had consoled her nephew in the wrong manner and should have listened to the police.
Magistrate Tim Walsh said he understood her to want to comfort her nephew, but it didn't excuse her behaviour.
"A police officers job is hard enough," he said.
"You must lawfully obey when directed."
Mr Walsh added that the community shouldn't have to put up with hearing that sort of abuse.
Jones was sentenced to a six-month corrections order and was told to donate $250 to the Blue Ribbon Foundation.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.mailtimes.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Wim_Mail_Times
- Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/wimmeramailtimes/
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up here.