A teen involved in a brutal assault at a Mission restaurant last year has been sentenced to six months’ open custody, three months of community supervision and 12 months’ probation.
He has also been ordered to pay more than $1,100 in dental and medical expenses to the victim.
The 18-year-old, who cannot be named because he was a youth at the time of the offence, was found guilty in January of aggravated assault. He was recently sentenced in Abbotsford provincial court.
The teen was also found guilty of breaching a condition of his probation, from a previous offence, that he not be in possession of any weapons.
The incident took place at about 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2010 at the Boston Pizza restaurant located in The Junction shopping complex in Mission.
Two Mission RCMP officers arrived for a dinner break at the restaurant in the midst of a fight that had broken out among 20 to 30 people.
The main altercation was occurring at the end of the bar, where one of the officers observed the youth punch another man, who was covering his face with both arms.
According to Judge Donald Gardner’s written reasons for sentence, the assailant was holding a glass, which shattered in the victim’s face. The youth then struck the victim twice in the face with the broken glass.
The officer drew his gun, ordered the attacker to stop and took him to the floor.
Gardner described the assault as a “serious violent offence.” He said the victim required several staples to stop the bleeding on the top of his head, and 30 to 40 stitches for the cuts on his face. He now has permanent scars on his forehead and one of his cheeks.
In addition, two of his front teeth were fractured and had to be extracted. He has since required several dental surgeries, including a bone graft.
Gardner said the victim has been in “a great deal of pain” since the assault, and has difficulty sleeping at night.
Evidence presented at trial indicated that the assailant told a psychologist and a youth court worker that he “did not intend to inflict harm to the extent caused and, in the moment, saw it as a mutual fight as he feels the victim was fighting back.”
In sentencing the youth, Gardner took into consideration Crown counsel’s submission that the teen has shown little remorse for the incident and has two previous convictions for assault.
One occurred when he was 14 and punched someone during a fight while the other accused kicked the victim. The second was at school in February 2008, and resulted in a sentence of 18 months’ probation.
Gardner ruled that the youth must complete a violent offender treatment program, obey a curfew of between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily, and be subject to a weapons prohibition for two years upon his release from custody.
Open custody involves living at a youth facility, but has less stringent controls and greater privileges than a secure-custody youth centre.
