Man jailed for attack on pizza delivery driver

An "amazing" effort to rehabilitate himself was not enough to spare a 27-year-old Penticton man from jail time.

Dayne Douglas Jones was sentenced on Friday to 12 months behind bars for slashing a pizza delivery driver's face with a boxcutter and scrapping with police during a drunken rage on Dec. 14, 2015.

Court heard previously Jones was heavily intoxicated when he ordered a pizza from Canadian 2 for 1 just before midnight, but was unable to find his wallet when his order arrived, so the delivery driver, Brian Booth, left with the pie.

Jones then called the restaurant again, requesting a new pizza be sent or he would harm staff.

Booth, also a part-owner of the pizzeria, returned to Jones’s apartment on Westminster Avenue and an altercation ensued, which ended with Booth grabbing the knife and fleeing to his car, then driving himself to Penticton Regional Hospital, where he received 30 stitches to repair lacerations to his face and hands. One of his eyes was also damaged and required surgery.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing in provincial court in Penticton, Judge Gail Sinclair said Booth was harmed “physically, financially and psychologically.”

He said it’s the court’s responsibility to protect vulnerable people, such as convenience store clerks and pizza delivery drivers, who work alone and during late hours at night.

“This should have been nothing more than a transaction over the price of a pizza,” Sinclair said.

The judge recognized a remarkable turnaround in Jones’s life which includes being sober since the night of the incident. He’s presently in substance abuse therapy, he sees a psychiatrist regularly, has full-time employment, and the support of his parents, who were both in court, Friday.

“The accused has done quite an amazing job rehabilitating himself,” Sinclair said. He believes Jones’s remorse is sincere.

Defence lawyer James Pennington recommended a jail sentence of 90 days to be served on weekends. The Crown was recommending two years less a day.

In addition to the jail term, Sinclair also ordered 18 months of probation with numerous strict conditions, such as no contact with Booth, along with a 10-year firearms ban.