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Young woman blames a wardrobe malfunction for spitting at cops after she was arrested during a wild and drunken night, while being thrown behind bars.
- Tayla Bree Gray, 25, spat at a top officer after he confiscated her vape pen
- She fought off police when they handcuffed her after the incident at Surfers Paradise.
- Gray punched a man in the face outside a nightclub before lunging at the officers.
- Her lawyer said CCTV footage revealed that her breast was exposed during her arrest.
A woman who spat at a police officer after he confiscated her vape pen has blamed a locker room malfunction for the altercation as she is thrown behind bars.
Tayla Bree Gray, 25, pleaded guilty at Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday to common assault, resisting police, felony assault on police and failure to comply with intensive correctional orders (ICOs).
Gray punched a man in the face outside a Surfers Paradise nightclub in Queensland and lashed out at police as they tried to handcuff her.
Police Chief Prosecutor Andrew Smith said Gray hit an officer twice as they were walking to the station and was kicking, cursing loudly and threatening.
Tayla Bree Gray, 25, pleaded guilty at Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday to common assault, resisting police, felony assault on police and violating intensive corrections orders (pictured posing outside the cut moments before being stopped)
Gray punched a man in the face outside a Surfers Paradise nightclub on Queensland’s Gold Coast and lashed out at police as they tried to handcuff her.
Gray was taken to a police van where she “deliberately” spat “right in the face” of a senior officer after he confiscated a vape pen she had been using inside.
Defense attorney Jodi Allen said her client had limited recollection of the night in late June and had consumed a “significant” amount of alcohol.
She said Gray can’t remember the common assault “at all” and said a wardrobe malfunction was the reason she resisted police during her arrest.
“When they handcuffed her, the top of her dress exposed one of her breasts,” Ms Allen said.
‘(CCTV shows) she (was) trying to pull up her dress to cover her. That’s not an excuse, but it somehow explains her belligerence.
She said the saliva said to have landed on the senior officer’s cheek was not obvious from examining police body camera footage.
Police Chief Prosecutor Andrew Smith said Gray hit an officer twice as they were walking to the station and was kicking, cursing loudly and threatening.
Ms. Allen said her client had expressed “willingness” to receive help with his drinking and anger issues and had made “self-reports” about his drug use.
Gray recently traveled to Townsville, in northeast Queensland, to spend time with his family knowing the “real risk” of going to jail, his lawyer said.
Magistrate Kerry Magee said it was clear Gray behaved “inappropriately” when he drank alcohol to excess and he was lucky no one was seriously hurt.
He noted that Gray is the subject of an ICO until next May following another drunken assault and is currently facing court for other violent crimes, with the June incident occurring just 28 days after his probation ended.
Gray recently traveled to Townsville, in northeast Queensland, to spend time with his family knowing the “real risk” of going to jail, his lawyer Jodi Allen told the court.
The magistrate sentenced the 25-year-old to nine months behind bars for the “particularly disgusting” offense of spitting on an officer, one month for kicking and three months for punching, to be served simultaneously.
For violating her ICO, which allows a criminal to serve their sentence in the community, she was convicted but not punished.
Justice Magee said she would have granted Gray immediate parole were it not for his criminal record; instead, he must serve a third of his sentence.
She took a photo of herself beaming outside Southport Magistrates Court before her conviction and was showered with messages from her followers.
The 25-year-old will be paroled in March 2023.