Man spits in guard’s face, says he has AIDS
KITCHENER — A patient at Grand River Hospital announced he has AIDS and then spat in the face of a security guard, court was told on Monday.
“I hope you get it, too,” Anthony Bennett-Dawson told the guard.
Saliva entered the guard’s right eye, Crown prosecutor Ashley Warne said.
“Due to the comment Mr. Bennett-Dawson had made about having a disease, there was some concern about (the guard’s) well-being.”
Blood taken from the guard showed he was disease-free.
Bennett-Dawson, 37, didn’t actually have AIDS, defence lawyer Sean Safa said outside the courtroom.
The Kitchener man had been a patient in the hospital on July 25. When a registered nurse touched his wrist, Bennett-Dawson punched him on the forearm.
The nurse called for security. Two guards arrived. Bennett-Dawson ran at the nurse.
One guard stepped in front of the nurse. BennettDawson ran into the guard and fell to the ground.
He was handcuffed and put in a chair. He kicked one guard in the shin and then spat in the other guard’s face.
Bennett-Dawson was arrested but later released. On July 31, he went to the Tim Hortons at 925 King St. E. in Kitchener. He had previously been trespassed from the restaurant. An employee told him to leave. He replied, “I will cut your face.”
He was arrested nearby and was sentenced to two years in prison on the two assaults and one threatening charge.
“These offences are concerning because they involve violence, they involve assaults on people who were performing their jobs at a hospital and threatening a woman who worked at a Tim Hortons,” Justice Pamela Borghesan said.
Bennett-Dawson has a long criminal record, with at least 10 convictions for violent crimes.
The judge suggested he take counselling.
“Thirty-seven’s young,” Borghesan said. “And there’s time to change, there’s time to figure things out and get on a better path.”
Bennett-Dawson replied that with a long criminal record, changing his life is “harder than you think.”
“I don’t doubt that it’s very hard but I’ve met people who’ve done it,” the judge said. “It’s not impossible.”