Geraldton man Shane Phillip Mazzuchelli fined $1200 for Shore Leave assault on security guard

A Geraldton man who pushed a security guard after being told to leave a Shore Leave event has been ordered to pay compensation to the victim. Shane Phillip Mazzuchelli was asked to leave Shore Leave’s licensed premises on the Geraldton foreshore about 9.30pm on April 30. Some time after, he returned to the venue and a security guard again told the 29-year-old he was not permitted on the site. Geraldton Magistrates Court was on Thursday told Mazzuchelli used his open palms to push the security guard once in the chest “with some force”. He pleaded guilty to common assault, failing to leave a licensed premises and re-entering a licensed premises within 24 hours of being told to leave. Defence counsel George Giudice said Mazzuchelli came from a “well-respected” local family and had been praised by employers for his “strong work ethic”. Given this, Mr Giudice requested Mazzuchelli be granted a spent conviction. But Magistrate Angus Hockton said the fact the man had similar offending on his record made it difficult to accept Mazzuchelli had been acting “out of character”. “The security guard was just doing his job. You were making their job more difficult,” he said. Mr Hockton described Shore Leave as a “special event” for Geraldton and said families should not have been “exposed” to Mazzuchelli’s behaviour. He refused to wipe the common assault from Mazzuchelli’s record and fined him $1200, which will be paid to the victim.