Mr Kelly was evicted from the Hillston slub five times. Photo: Facebook/Hillston Ex-Servicemen’s Club.
A Hillston man has been fined and handed a six-month good behaviour bond after returning to a pub on five separate occasions after he was evicted for throwing a half-full schooner glass.
Charles John Henry Kelly, 33, kept changing his clothing, wearing different tops or a hat when returning to the Hillston Ex-Servicemen’s Club so staff would not recognise him, according to the police report.
He pleaded guilty to behaving offensively in a public place and to five counts of re-entering a venue as an excluded person, for which he was given a $300 fine for each offence.
When asked by police why he kept returning, he said: “I didn’t want to go”.
The incidents occurred on the night of Saturday 19 July, after the Hillston Swans football team had their last home game. Mr Kelly attended a charity auction at the club, where he danced in the outdoor area while a band was playing.
Just after 7:15 pm, he held a schooner glass half full of beer, pulling it back several times to practice before launching the glass with the beer in it. He then threw an empty can of Bundaberg Rum towards patrons, causing one of them to duck.
At 7:45 pm, a security guard told him to leave the premises and he exited via the rear bowling area. At the time, he was wearing a light blue long-sleeve shirt.
Around six minutes later, he re-entered the venue via the Ladies’ Lounge, this time wearing a dark blue long-sleeved jumper. He started dancing and talking to patrons.
A short time later, security and bar staff asked him to leave and he followed their instructions.
Just after 8:30 pm, he returned to the club, this time wearing a hat to appear different. A few minutes later he took off a jumper and swapped it for a friend’s top.
He was told to leave again and did so a few minutes later, but came back around 8:45 pm, was evicted again, then returned and was again escorted out.
He returned a fifth time after 9 pm and became aggressive when asked to leave, so staff called the police. A club board member told him he could stay, so long as he only drank water.
Police officers arrived at the club after 10 pm and found him dancing to the band. They told him to leave and to stay at least 50 metres away.
The club was also issued a $1100 fine for letting him stay after he was told to leave four times.
A month later, Mr Kelly was arrested and taken to Hillston Police Station. He could not provide a reason for why he threw the schooner glass.
At a court hearing in Griffith on Wednesday (3 September), his lawyer Olivia Harris said he was a person of good character who was well regarded in the community. She noted that while he kept returning to the club, he was not in any way violent.
“It should have been a good night… but you threw a schooner in the direction of people and each time you were told to leave, you kept coming back,” Magistrate Geraldine Beattie told him.
She said that if he behaved himself for the next six months, it would be the end of the matter. The good behaviour bond expires on 2 March 2026.
