Anger issues end in court

A GEELONG mum with a history of anger management issues, who spat in the face of a neighbour and slammed the head of a woman into a car bonnet in a separate incident, has faced court.

Chantelle Bell, also known as Chantelle Fry, was driving unlicensed on Portarlington Rd about 3pm on May 20 when she chose to tailgate another female driver.

The Geelong Magistrates Court heard on Monday that the confrontation came to a head in the carpark at the Gateway Plaza, Leopold, where Bell, 35, grabbed the victim by the hair and slammed her head into the bonnet.

Police prosecutor Denise Frame said the victim was bruised after she was punched repeatedly.

The court heard that Bell earlier slammed on the brakes of her car on Portarlington Rd, forcing the victim to swerve near Moolap Station Rd. When police interviewed Bell (pictured), of Norlane, in August she admitted to driving unlicensed but did not confess to the assault.

Leading Senior Constable Frame said that when Bell was asked if she assaulted the women she told police, “I didn’t believe that I did”.

On Monday Bell pleaded guilty to assault, disqualified driving and using a mobile phone while driving.

The court was told Bell spat in the face of a neighbour on September 6 at a Norlane home.

The incident came after the neighbour questioned why two children were left in her car, and why she was parked poorly in the driveway.

Bell’s lawyer, Andrea Meloni, urged magistrate Ann McGarvie to consider her client’s disadvantaged upbringing, her mental health issues, and a recent relationship where she was abused.

“Ms Bell has had an extremely disadvantaged upbringing,” Ms Meloni said. Bell was diagnosed with ADHD when she was four years old, the court heard.

Bell told the court her life had “imploded” at the time of the offending.

Ms Meloni, who conceded the offending was serious, said her client wanted to seek professional help for anger management issues.

The court was told Bell had been on a community corrections order that required treatment for anger management.

M s McGarvie sentenced Bell to a community corrections order that will require her to undergo anger management among other treatment.

“It’s obvious you have an anger management problem,” she said. Ms McGarvie warned Bell that if she fronted court again on violence-related charges a magistrate would likely consider jail.

She urged Bell to be a good role model for her children.