Man sentenced for drunken assault

Jason Samuel McCrae wasn’t directing traffic when he stood in the middle of a Lethbridge intersection and yelled at motorists as they drove by.

McCrae was standing in the middle of southside street July 3 when he yelled and banged on a vehicle as the driver tried to go around him. The driver stopped, honked his horn and told McCrae to get out of the way. Instead, McCrae, who was highly intoxicated, threw a full can of pop at the vehicle.

The motorist pulled over and stopped, then got out of his vehicle to ask McCrae what he was doing. McCrae’s response was to take off his backpack and shirt and take a couple of swings at the motorist, one of which connected.

The two men struggled on some nearby grass until a police officer drove by and intervened. After sorting out the circumstances, with the help of a witness, the officer arrested McCrae and attempted to put him in the back of the police van. McCrae resisted by flailing his arms and spitting at and kicking the officer.

McCrae, 29, pleaded guilty Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of assault, resisting a peace officer and breaching court orders. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail on each charge, which will run concurrently to one another, and given credit for the equivalent of 15 days he already spent in custody, leaving him with 45 days to serve.

Judge Gregory Maxwell said McCrae’s drunken antics and his record of past convictions suggest he has an alcohol problem, and he advised McCrae to deal with the problem or he will only find himself back in jail.

Defence told court that McCrae is remorseful and recognizes his problem with alcohol, although that’s no excuse for his actions.

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