The new trial for two Nanaimo men previously acquitted of manslaughter following a fight in the Grizzly Bar more than four years ago is tentatively set for this December in the Supreme Court of Canada.
Brothers Timothy and Matthew Maybin, as well as Buddha Gains, who worked as a bouncer at the now-closed bar, were found not guilty of manslaughter in 2008 by B.C. Supreme Court Judge Douglas Halfyard.
The Crown appealed and in a 2-1 decision released last fall, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for the brothers.
A tentative hearing date was scheduled for Dec. 8 in the Supreme Court of Canada.
Michael Brophy died Oct. 21, 2006 from internal bleeding in the brain following a fight that broke out in the Grizzly Bar hours earlier.
The first trial found that Timothy Maybin, with his brother Matthew Maybin, punched Brophy in the head.
Brophy fell face down on the pool table and Gains, observing the commotion, went over and also punched Brophy in the head while he was lying on the pool table.
In his Sept. 26, 2008 oral verdict, Halfyard said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that all three accused participated in an assault against Brophy and that both Timothy Maybin and Gains caused bodily harm to Brophy and knew their actions would have done so.
But Halfyard said it was not proven who struck the fatal blow or whether the three men acted in concert with each other. He recommended the Crown pursue a new charge of assault causing bodily harm.
Two of the three B.C. Court of Appeal panel judges ruled the trial judge erred in law in limiting his analysis to a determination of the medical cause of death.
