A teenage has been arrested for brutally bashing the owner of the Rocks Tavern – revenge for banning the kid for bad behaviour eight years earlier.
Kevin Mullins, now aged 74, made headlines in 2008 for banning a seven-year-old boy from his pub in Carpenter Rocks for a month. The kid had for months reportedly “upset staff and patrons” and finally ignored requests to stop climbing a wall near a glass atrium, prompting his removal and ban.
Mullins, who stands just 156 cm (5’ 1”) tall, suffers Parkinson’s disease and heart conditions. He says he was willing to put the incident behind them, but has been taunted ever since by the boy, who is the son of a prominent member of motorcycle club Gypsy Jokers.
“[This] kid has kept a hatred over what happened years ago,” he told The Advertiser.
“Every time he sees me he clips me around the ear and on that particular night he went too far, I got off my bar stool and said ‘enough is enough’ and asked him to ‘talk about it’.
“The kid picked me up and drove me into the ground really hard. I had hold of his hair and the kid had hold of my throat.”
The assault left Mullins in hospital, with fractured ribs, neck and leg injuries, and aggravated angina. Witnesses said they feared for his life during the attack by the 15-year-old, described as being like a “front row forward”.
Police were called to the incident on 20 October. He was arrested on 26 October, charged with assault causing harm, and bailed to appear in Mount Gambier Youth Court last this month.
Authorities recommended a barring order on the minor, which licensees are entitled to issue to anyone, regardless of age, in the pursuit of preserving the enjoyment and safety of other patrons.
