Man still feeling effects of punch

Trial begins for Afshin Maleki Ighani over incident last spring in Oliver

A man literally had some of the senses knocked out of him after being suckerpunched in an Oliver park, he testified at his alleged attacker’s trial Wednesday.

Bruce Landry told a judge the strike he received April 19, 2015, resulted in a brain hemorrhage and skull fracture that have since healed, but other effects persist — such as memory problems and a loss of taste and smell.

“My personality has changed a little bit — that’s what I’ve been told by all my friends — and I have concentration issues and a shorter temper,” he said on what was the first day of trial in provincial court in Penticton for his alleged attacker, Afshin Maleki Ighani, who’s accused of a single count of aggravated assault.

Landry, who’s from Montreal, said he was in Oliver last spring looking for work as a cherry picker and hanging out with friends on the day in question in Lion’s Park.

About 5 p.m., Ighani arrived and for no apparent reason began trying to intimidate them by circling their vehicles on his bike and staring at them.

Ighani, who’s in his mid-40s, eventually began leaning on Landry’s truck and fiddling with its mirrors, prompting Landry, who was 28 at the time, to ask him to leave.

The two soon after ended up between two vehicles, where Ighani attempted to put Landry in a choke hold from which Landry was able to escape.

Landry pushed Ighani away, then turned his head and gestured for Ighani to go to an empty area of the park.

“He took that moment to hit me when I was not looking,” Landry said.

According to friends, he received a single punch to his right cheek, which caused him to lose consciousness and fall backwards, hitting the back of his head on the concrete.

Landry, who denied striking Ighani or threatening violence, said he spent a week recovering in hospital in Penticton, but can’t recall his first three days there.

Dr. Lance Shepherd, who was on call in the emergency room when Landry arrived about 9:30 p.m., testified he ordered a CT scan that showed bleeding on the patient’s brain as a result of a skull fracture consistent with a fall against a hard surface.

The doctor said the injury could have been fatal had the bleeding on Landry’s left frontal lobe “extended” any longer than it did.

RCMP Const. Kuljit Singh, the first officer on the scene, testified Landry was being assessed by paramedics when he arrived at the park. He said he watched as Landry attempted to stand, then “fell right back down.”

Ighani was arrested without incident about 200 metres away, according to Singh, who said he’d dealt with the man at least 50 times in the previous two years.

The officer said under cross-examination he didn’t interview any witnesses before taking Ighani to jail, but returned to the scene the next day to speak to two nearby residents.

The trial is expected to last through Friday.