A teenager in his bid for freedom jumped over the dock at Tauranga's courthouse and assaulted a female prosecutor, shoving her with such force she struck a concrete wall, fell and hit her head on the concrete floor. Brendan Moon, 18, of Bethlehem, tried to do a runner on Thursday afternoonand was back in Tauranga District Court yesterday in handcuffs, flanked by two Waikeria Prison officers. Moon, who faced one charge each of escaping lawful custody and assault with intent to facilitate flight in the commission of a crime, waived his right to have a lawyer represent him and pleaded guilty to the charges. The court was told that about 3.25pm on Thursday, Moon was seated in the dock of court room three with a corrections officer beside him while other criminal charges were being dealt with. Also present were his lawyer, Gerald McArthur and Crown prosecutor Julie O'Brien. Without warning Moon jumped over the dock barrier and ran for the exit. Mrs O'Brien stood in front of the exit doors which were closed but Moon pushed her backwards with such force she slammed into the doors, fell and hit her head. Moon ran from the courtroom towards the main courthouse entrance where he was grabbed by two men and a violent struggle ensued. He was restrained with the help of two prison officers and taken back into custody. Mrs O'Brien received a bump to the back of her head, a sore back and was very shaken but did not require medical treatment. Moon told police he saw an opportunity to escape and took it but had not meant to hurt Mrs O'Brien. Because his lawyer, Mr McArthur, was a witness to the incident, he could not act for Moon yesterday. But he told Judge Russell Callander that despite legal advice, Moon wanted to plead guilty. Judge Callander remanded Moon in custody for a pre-sentence report and sentencing on September 26.
