Tattoo shop owner pleads guilty

A P.E.I. tattoo shop owner who lost a leg after a vehicle pinned him to the outside of a building pleaded guilty Tuesday to mischief by damaging property in connection with the altercation.

Donald (Artie) Gautreau appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown where he entered the guilty plea.

With the plea, the Crown stayed a second charge of assault with a weapon.

No facts were read into the record, but Gautreau previously told The Guardian the weapon he was alleged to have used was a spray bottle.

Gautreau and two other men were charged after an altercation outside Extreme Ink in Charlottetown on Dec. 23.

The police allege one of the men pinned Gautreau against the building with a vehicle.

Gautreau was taken to hospital in Halifax where part of his leg was amputated.

His shop was closed while Gautreau was recovering, but he has since re-opened it.

The matter was adjourned until April 12 for the court to get an update from probation services.

Gautreau was last on probation in 2013. Riley MacFadyen has also been charged with assault with a weapon for his alleged role in the incident.

Sean Michael Lombardi is facing charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

MacFadyen and Lombardi’s cases are still before the courts.