Sentencing adjourned

A 21-year-old man who stabbed a man with a broken beer bottle and attacked a car with a sword will return to court next week for sentencing.

Tyler Wilson, of Port Colborne, appeared in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Thursday for sentencing on several charges including aggravated assault. Assistant Crown attorney Robert Mahler is seeking a jail term of 18 to 21 months.

However, Judge Peter Wilkie opted to adjourn sentencing until Dec. 22 so that information could be collected on how Wilson plans to address a number of issues, including substance abuse.

While Wilson has a history of alcohol and drug abuse, including using crystal meth and bath salts, defence counsel V.J. Singh said the young man is “very salvageable” if he receives the help he needs.

“What we have here is a young man whose life has just gone down the toilet,” Singh told the judge.

He said Wilson had never been in trouble with the law in the past but in the span of less than three months he racked up several serious criminal charges.

Wilson was arrested in May after police responded to a call of an armed man in the East Village area of Port Colborne.

The investigation determined a man had attacked three other males at a home after getting into a dispute over the ownership of a television. While the trio received minor injures, their car sustained more than $6,750 in damage after Wilson went at it with a sword.

He was arrested again in July after police responded to a disturbance on King Street near Charlotte

Street in Port Colborne and found a 25-year-old man with stab wounds to his body. The victim was transported to hospital and has since recovered from his injuries. The judge noted Wilson said in his pre-sentence report his goal was to receive disability support payments. “Surely his goal is to become a functioning member of the community by working,” the judge said.

“His goal should be to get some employment.”