‘Wild man’ found guilty of attacking father, son during melee at farm

REGINA While a judge was unable to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Andrew David Cochrane, 37, broke into a Reginaarea farmhouse a year ago, she had far less difficulty determining he assaulted and threatened two men on that farm.

In her ruling Monday, Regina provincial court Judge Anna Crugnale-reid found the testimony of all three witnesses called by the Crown — the father and son who were assaulted as well as a police officer who responded to the call — to be both reliable and credible. Sentencing was set for Jan. 7.

The father, a then-67-year-old retiree, described a “wild man” coming at him with bolt cutters while his son told the court about a strange and frightening encounter with a man he didn’t know at the family’s RM of Sherwood property.

During the trial, court heard the family wasn’t living at the farm, but had a live-in farmhand, who was away at the time. The two men were checking on the farm on Dec. 15, 2018, when they each separately encountered Cochrane.

Court heard that the son first saw Cochrane in the barn. The man introduced himself to the son as “Cory” and said he was there to look after the place and feed the animals. There were signs he’d fed the dog and cats.

The son left but said he wasn’t sure whether “Cory’s” claims were true, as he knew the farmhand might indeed have hired someone to help — the reason Crugnalereid didn’t convict on the break and enter charge. The son couldn’t reach the farmhand by phone at the time, but his father said he hadn’t hired anyone, so the son returned to the farm.

Shortly after getting there, a fight began, with Cochrane pulling a pellet gun on the son. A struggle began, during which the son was struck multiple times and choked. Cochrane was also injured.

The son was eventually able to flee to an outbuilding where he called his father and 9-1-1.

The nearest police unit was 25 minutes away, and the father got to the farm first. A second altercation began, this time between Cochrane and the father. Court heard the 67-year-old was struck twice with a set of bolt cutters, including once on the head. He was able to tackle Cochrane at one point, and otherwise managed to hold him off until police arrived. Cochrane was then arrested.

Father and son each suffered injuries that required treatment in hospital.

While Cochrane didn’t take the stand, his statement to police was played in court during the trial, effectively providing his side of the story. He claimed he was offered the farm job by a man named Cory, whom he assumed owned the place, and further alleged he had been attacked by the two men.

Crugnale-reid found Cochrane’s statement at times both “farfetched” and “evasive.”