Coast Guard commodore breaks neighbour's leg in go-kart spat
A decorated Coast Guard commodore who ran down a man with his car because he was fed up with a go-kart buzzing up and down his street has been given an 18-month suspended sentence.
Kenneth Albert Stanley, 67, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Tuesday to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm.
The court was told Stanley did not mean to hit victim Bruce Pinkerton, who was left with a broken leg after the incident on July 1, 2017, in Upper Coomera.
It stemmed from a neighbourhood dispute when Stanley became frustrated by the noise of the go-kart outside his home at 9.30pm.
He and his wife yelled for the noise to stop before Stanley got in a car and drove down the street, stopping outside the home of the victim's friend.
The court heard that Mr Pinkerton walked towards the car as it reversed before Stanley "snapped" and drove at the victim and broke his right tibia.
Defence barrister Anthony Jamieson argued the incident took place over a "couple of seconds" and Stanley was trying only to scare Mr Pinkerton.
"What we have here is a car that has gone in reverse, put on the brake, the vehicle has then gone forward ... it did not travel very far before it struck the victim," Mr Jamieson said.
Justice Catherine Muir rejected the argument, saying using a vehicle as a weapon was "deliberate and reckless conduct".
Mr Jamieson said Stanley was an outstanding member of the community who had risked his life to save others in his role as a coast guard and had resigned from his role as commodore as a result of the incident.
Outside court, Stanley and his supporters were involved in a scuffle with media, pushing a camera at a photographer, giving him a cut above his left eye.
Mr Pinkerton said he was disappointed Stanley had not been jailed and should be banned from serving in the coast guard for life.
"He's got a bad temper and he thinks he's above the law. He just got shown that he wasn't," Mr Pinkerton said outside court .
"He's not remorseful. He still drives around the street like a lunatic."
AAP