Ex-tiler pulls knife on kids at Maccas

A FORMER tiler pulled a knife on a group of juveniles in the middle of a popular Gold Coast McDonald’s in an effort to stop them bothering him.

Days later Nathan Burgess was found asleep on the floor of a building under construction with his phone plugged into a nearby extension cord.

The 45-year-old pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday to multiple charges including going armed to cause fear, possessing dangerous drugs and breaching bail.

The court was told Burgess was in Cavill Ave Mall, Surfers Paradise about 12.15am on September 3 when he exchanged words with four youths. Later that day he ran into the juveniles at the Cavill Ave McDonald’s.

Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Nicole Conditsis said Burgess pulled a kitchen knife from his backpack.

“The knife was held in his right hand at hip height and he turned it to reveal the knife to the group,” he said.

Sen Sgt Conditsis said an employee saw the knife and called police.

Days later, on September 8, Burgess was captured on CCTV jumping a fence into a construction site on Beach Rd.

He was found asleep on the floor with his phone plugged in to charge it.

Burgess was found with a used needle and drug-related utensils during a routine traffic stop in Labrador in May this year. A month later he was found in Surfers Paradise with a small amount of cocaine.

Magistrate Kerry Magee placed Burgess on six months’ probation. He has already spent 43 days in pre-sentence custody.

Defence lawyer Alex Somers, of Nyst Legal, said drugs contributed to a number of Burgess’s smaller offences. “He made the misguided decision to take a knife out of a backpack to prevent them from bothering him,” he said.

Mr Somers said the six weeks in custody was the longest Burgess had been clean since 2019.