A man dramatically tackled by a fellow passenger during a wild outburst at Brisbane Airport has been arrested again and is now back behind bars, with a Magistrate delivering a cheeky two-word warning.
Djon James Bland appeared via video link from the Capricornia Correctional Centre, where he is currently serving a nine-month sentence for an unrelated matter imposed by the Mackay Magistrates Court.
The 26-year-old had initially been granted bail after the May 15 incident at Brisbane Airport’s domestic terminal, where he allegedly abused Virgin Australia staff and was restrained by passengers before police arrived.
Footage of the incident showed a man, wearing a white T-shirt and a green Lime scooter-style helmet, shouting profanities and thrashing as staff and passengers tried to restrain him, before he was tackled to the ground by another passenger.
He was arrested by an Australian Federal Police officer about 15 minutes later.
Witnesses said the outburst escalated when Bland was told he couldn’t board his next flight at Gate 45.
Brisbane Airport and Virgin Australia later thanked those who stepped in to help.
On Thursday, at the Brisbane Magistrates Court, there was some confusion over Bland’s charges.
The prosecutor explained two new charges, public nuisance and assault occasioning bodily harm, would replace the original charges of public nuisance and common assault due to a doctor’s report.
Before the clarification, Bland objected to the fresh charges, claiming the matter should be dismissed.
“Nice try,” the Magistrate replied.
Bland told the court that he hadn’t yet spoken to a lawyer about his matter.
“If I had got the brief of evidence … I would be able to do the case today,” he said.
Bland was asked if he had been behaving in prison, to which he laughed and replied, “Yeah, I’m the best.”
The magistrate then advised him, “Don’t fly – drive down to Brisbane” for his next appearance after his release.
He was granted bail for the updated charges but will remain in custody for the unrelated matter until his release date on August 23.
The matter is set to return to Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 11.
