Crown asking for 2 years in sucker-punch case

Penticton man’s actions ‘random and senseless’

Delivering an unprovoked sucker-punch to a pedestrian in downtown Penticton should result in the attacker hit with two years in jail, the Crown argued at a sentencing hearing Monday in provincial court.

Joshua Alexander McBride, 33, previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and uttering threats in connection with the incident around 2 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2016.

Court heard McBride was in a car with his ex-girlfriend driving the wrong way up Main Street, when he hopped out and punched a male passerby in the face, causing multiple broken bones in the victim’s face and damaging his right eye.

McBride “said words to the effect of, ‘I’m an a--hole, sorry about this,’ before punching (the victim) in the head for no reason,” said Crown counsel Kurt Froehlich as he read from a police report at Monday’s hearing.

“There is an expectation in our society that you should be able to walk down the street and not be attacked,” Froehlich continued.

“These people, (the victim) and his friends were minding their own business and did nothing to provoke this attack whatsoever.”

McBride’s ex-girlfriend called police afterwards, advising she was with him during the incident and he had threatened her once they were back in the vehicle together.

“She described him as smiling, seemed to have no remorse for what he had done,” Froehlich said.

The ex-girlfriend, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome after the event, wrote a victim impact statement that was read out in court.

“I cannot leave my house after the sun has gone down. I fear I’ll be randomly assaulted by a stranger,” she said.

The man who was struck didn’t submit a victim impact statement.

Froehlich, who described the assault as “random and senseless,” recommended a jail sentence in the range of 18 to 24 months, followed by two years’ probation.