One of Canberra's most well-known restaurateurs has been found guilty of a string of offences after an incident where he hit a police officer with his car.
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James Daniel Mussillon, 46, of Campbell appeared in Queanbeyan Local Court on Wednesday where he was found guilty of five charges, including assaulting a police officer.
Mussillon is the owner of fine dining venues Courgette and Waters Edge, which were each awarded one chef's hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide.
The incident occurred on December 29 last year shortly after 2.30am when police were called to the Queanbeyan Leagues Club because Mussillon refused a staff member's direction to leave.
Police statements tendered in court suggested that Mussillon was agitated and continued to refuse to leave even after asked by the three officers in attendance to do so.
Mussillon had been playing the poker machines at the leagues club and apparently refused to leave as he was waiting for $20,000 in winnings.
A witness statement said that Mussillon was a regular gambler at the leagues club and a bank account was on file that his winnings could be paid into.
Mussillon eventually agreed to leave and wait in his car. Police statements state that as he was entering the vehicle he directed towards the officers, "I'm going to f---ing run you over."
The officers then converged on the vehicle and one opened the passenger side door. Mussillon refused to exit the vehicle and reversed at speed causing the still-ajar passenger door to hit the officer.
As Mussillon tried to leave the carpark police were able to stop him at the intersection of the carpark and Collett Street.
Mussillon was then arrested and transferred to Queanbeyan Police Station. Officers found $8000 in cash in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
The officer struck by the vehicle later attended Queanbeyan Hospital where a doctor said she had suffered soft tissue damage.
Police statements state that Mussillon expressed remorse for his actions from the holding cells and offered an apology.
Mussillon was found guilty of intimidating leagues club staff and the officers, failing to leave the premises when requested, using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention and assaulting a police officer. He has been on bail since the event and cannot enter a licensed premises in Queanbeyan.
Mussillon will reappear in court in October for sentencing.
