Thomas Kruger-Allen is expected to be sentenced in Penticton Supreme Court on Friday, March 5.
Kruger-Allen was scheduled to be sentenced last Wednesday, but his lawyer James Paddington introduced a Charter of Rights breach application involving the arrest of Kruger-Allen in May 2019.
Paddington is asking that Kruger-Allen serve 12 to 18 months in jail for the May 2019 beach attack that left one of his three victims with a traumatic brain injury.
Crown prosecutor Nashina Devji is asking for five to six years in jail.
With credit for ‘deadtime’ served, Kruger-Allen will see more than two years taken off any sentence he is given, said Crown.
Crown counsel spoke to how limited the programs are to help Kruger-Allen if he continues to be in provincial jail.
Kruger-Allen is currently in the Oliver provincial jail.
He pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault of Brad Eliason for the beach attack. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting two young women the same night on the beach. He punched one young woman in the face and punched the other in the chest after grabbing her buttocks.
Last week, the courtroom heard the heartbreaking victim impact statement of Brad Eliason who walked back to the beach and was punched by Kruger-Allen in an unprovoked attack. The one punch caused him to fall back and hit his head on the concrete. Eliason, who had never met Kruger-Allen, suffered a traumatic brain injury that has life long implications.
Eliason remained in a coma for three weeks, had to have part of his skull removed to relieve the swelling in his brain and continues to have seizures as well as physical and emotional pain. Prior to the assault, Eliason was happily married, working and looking forward to starting a family. He dreamt of having kids, said his now ex-wife Chelsea Townend in her victim statement.
“I’ve lost everything,” said Eliason in the courtroom. “I’ve lost my wife, my home, my job.”
If let out of jail, Kruger-Allen poses an ‘incredible risk’ to the community, according to a submission by Crown counsel on Tuesday (Feb. 23).
“Until his anger can be managed, Kruger-Allen poses a serious safety concern in his community to just about anyone he comes across,” said the Crown prosecutor.
His psychological report, which included an anger test, indicated that Kruger-Allen is at “a high risk of recidivism” and has a pattern of anti-social behaviour.
Kruger-Allen will go to trial this summer accused of a home invasion in Penticton that occurred in October 2019, while he was out on bail.
READ MORE: Kruger-Allen poses safety threat to the community if anger not treated – Crown
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