Man who cracked dad’s skull with bat spared jail

A man convicted of hitting his father in the head with a baseball bat and fracturing his skull will not serve any jail time.

On Sept. 18, a B.C. Supreme Court jury in Kelowna found Jeremiah Hayes guilty of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

Hayes, 31, had borrowed money from his father David, and when it was not repaid, his father refused to return a saw Hayes had stored at his house.

The assault against Hayes’ father related to the possession of the saw, B.C. Supreme Court Judge Janet Winteringham wrote in her sentencing decision released Wednesday.

The day of the assault, Hayes went to his father’s house and struck him on the head with a metal baseball bat, fracturing his skull and cutting his earlobe.

In the moments preceding the assault, David did not gesture or threaten Hayes, Winteringham wrote.

“The circumstances surrounding the convictions arise out of a sad relationship between a father and a son and years of dysfunction,” she said.

At the time of the offence, Hayes did not have a criminal record.

The Crown proposed a jail sentence of between three and four months followed by one year of probation, while the defence argued for a non-custodial sentence.

Winteringham stayed the charge of assault causing bodily harm, stating the offence was better captured in count one, assault with a weapon.

She also agreed with defence counsel that a jail sentence was not necessary despite the jury’s finding of guilt.

In her sentencing decision, Winteringham called Hayes’ childhood “tragic.”

“It is clear that whatever Mr. Hayes suffered at the hands of his father, it continues to severely, but I hope not irreparably, impact him,” she wrote.

Winteringham said Hayes demonstrated good character when he turned himself in immediately following the assault. She called him intelligent and insightful despite his background.

“I am satisfied that a jail sentence is not warranted in this case,” she wrote. “I will suspend the passing of sentence and impose a probation order for three years.”