Teen throws punch over fish

A WANNABE soldier threw punches and a glass bottle at fisheries officers after they asked to search his friend’s bag.

The 18-year-old faced a children’s court yesterday over the incident in the Corio Quay precinct last year.

A Victorian Fisheries Authority prosecutor said the boy, who was 17 at the time, was walking with the friend when two officers asked to search a bag for any undersized fish on March 4.

The boy became aggressive upon the request and launched a torrent of abuse at the officers.

After an officer tried to grab the bag, the boy started throwing punches and connected with the officer’s eyebrow in what the court heard was not a forceful blow.

When the officer threatened to deploy OC spray, the teenager charged at him and said: “Come on c---.”

A search of the bag found no undersized fish and it was returned to the boy’s friend.

As the officers left in a car, the teen threw a glass bottle in their direction but it missed and shattered on the ground.

The court heard the incident triggered a disc prolapse in one of the officers and he had since been restricted to light duties at work.

In a separate incident on April 27, the boy kicked in the back door of his mum’s Bell Park home and wrote “F--you” on his bedroom wall after she told him he wasn’t welcome to stay.

A magistrate stood the case down to allow the boy to be assessed for a diversion, which would allow him to avoid a criminal record.

But his lawyer later returned to court to explain the teen stormed out of the as- sessment.

“He’s been quite agitated as the day has gone on,” she said.

“The waiting around seems to agitate him.

“He also found out today he’s not going to get into the army, which was his dream.”

The case was adjourned to next Wednesday for another diversion assessment.