The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has quashed an assault conviction against a man who was found guilty of an attack that left a Regina senior brain-damaged.
A trial judge sentenced Justin Piapot to seven years in prison and designated him as a long-term offender after he was convicted of assault causing bodily harm.
During the trial, a lawyer for Piapot argued his client acted in self-defence when he elbowed 66-year-old Jerry Gray in the face in January 2009.
The blow left Gray with long-term brain damage, and he remains unable to walk, talk or feed himself.
The trial heard that Gray had picked up a sword after Piapot confronted him for trying to touch his girlfriend while they were drinking at Gray’s home.
The Crown also appealed, arguing that the trial judge erred in acquitting Piapot of aggravated assault, and ignored or overlooked new requirements for mandatory dangerous offender designations.
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal rejected the trial judge’s assessment that Gray, “a belligerent and aggressive individual carrying a sword and raising his fist,” posed no threat to Piapot, who was 21 at the time.
“In my opinion, Mr. Piapot’s conviction was unreasonable and it must be quashed,” Chief Justice Robert Richards wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The appeal court ordered that Piapot’s conviction for assault causing bodily harm be set aside, and that he be acquitted on the charge of aggravated assault.
The decision designating him as a long-term offender was also set aside because there is now no conviction on which to base the designation.
