Fisherman accused of spitting at Dongara Community Resource Centre employee arrested

A prawn fisherman accused of spitting at a woman working at the Dongara Community Resource Centre was arrested in Geraldton last weekend after allegedly failing to appear in court a month earlier. Damien Ernest Bridge, 41, appeared in Geraldton Magistrate’s Court on Monday from police custody, following his arrest last Sunday at the Ocean Centre Hotel. Prosecutor Sgt Beau Jones told the court Mr Bridge , who works on a prawn trawler off Carnarvon, allegedly spat at the CRC employee on May 20. He said the woman approached Mr Bridge to speak about failing to pay for computer use when he began yelling at her and stormed out. He later returned and allegedly spat at the woman during an argument. “He spat at the complainant whilst her back was turned, the saliva hit her in the back and also hit the foot of a teenage girl doing work experience,” Sgt Jones said. Mr Bridge told the court the allegations were a “totally fabricated lie”, pleaded not guilty to common assault. He said he notified the court ahead of his last appearance by email that he would be unable to attend because he was “out at sea” and had no idea there was an arrest warrant issued. “I was 20 miles off Shark Bay,” he said. Police allegedly found about 1g gram of a crystalline substance, believed to be methamphetamine, during his arrest. He was given bail by Magistrate Chris Miocevich with conditions and he not be within 100m of Moreton Terrace, in Dongara and will return to court on September 6.