Men found guilty for assault outside nightclub

A Kelowna man accused of assaulting another man outside a downtown Kelowna nightclub has been found guilty, along with the bouncer accused of assisting in the attack.

Steven Kaplan and Kyle O’Brien were both charged with aggravated assault.

On Sept. 6, 2014, Michael Martin attended the Liquid Zoo nightclub, outside of which he was involved in two fights with Kaplan.

Kaplan also arranged for his friend, Steven Kollie, to assault Martin outside Sapphire night club later that evening, Justice Allan Betton said in court on Thursday.

Martin was inside Sapphire when Kaplan and Kollie arrived at the entrance to speak with O’Brien, one of the bouncers at the club.

“Mr. O’Brien is observed going inside the club and directly to Mr. Martin, who is then alone at one of the bars,” said Betton.

“Mr. Martin says that Mr. O’Brien was telling him that he had to leave the bar.”

O’Brien is then seen physically ejecting Martin, carrying him by his head and shoulders, with his feet off the ground.

Outside the club, Kollie punched Martin in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Martin was hospitalized for three weeks and was in a coma for several days.

In a statement to police, O’Brien said he’d been asked to remove Martin from the club by another bouncer based on unacceptable behaviour by Martin inside Sapphire.

“There is nothing that would indicate that Mr. O’Brien would have known what or how each of Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Kollie intended to carry out the assault,” said Betton. “(But) he acted to assist them, and he cannot be absolved in culpability on the basis that he did not know if one or the other would ultimately carry out the assault.”

Video surveillance showed Kaplan and O’Brien unphased by the blow, said Betton.

“When Mr. Martin was hit, Mr. O’Brien should have been the person most surprised and troubled by what had unfolded if he . . . had unknowingly put Mr. Martin in harm’s way.”

Betton found Kaplan guilty of aggravated assault and O’Brien guilty of assault. They will be sentenced at a later date. Kollie was sentenced to five years in jail last year after being found guilty of aggravated assault.