Sinner found not guilty in backyard stabbings case

A 40-year-old man has been found not guilty of taking part in the stabbings of two men during a backyard brawl in 2012.

Darren Douglas Sinner had initially been facing two counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident, charges that had been downgraded to assault with a weapon by the time he went to trial at Regina Court of Queen’s Bench earlier this year.

On Thursday, Justice Fred Kovach returned with his decision, stating significant problems with key Crown witnesses left him with a reasonable doubt as to Sinner’s guilt.

At trial, one of the two complainants claimed he didn’t remember anything while Kovach said he had concerns with the reliability and credibility of the other man’s testimony.

Kovach said not only were there issues with the second man having changed elements of his testimony, there was also a problem in his identification of Sinner.

Kovach noted the man did not identify Sinner as a member of the opposing party until after police informed him Sinner had been charged.

There were also issues with the witnesses’ alcohol consumption prior to the fight, potentially affecting the reliability of their evidence.

Sinner thanked his defence lawyer Estes Fonkalsrud before he was led from the courtroom by deputy sheriffs.

He will remain in custody until Friday when it’s expected he will resolve some less serious charges he continues to face.

According to information previously heard in court, the fight was reported to police in the early morning of Sept. 27, 2012 after a group of people walking down an alley behind the 1400 block of Angus Street spotted a number of people sitting on the back deck of a house.

A verbal exchange between the parties escalated when the two groups armed themselves with items that included golf clubs and baseball bats.

Two men suffered serious stab wounds in the course of the fight — one ending up in hospital for two months, the other suffering a gash to his belly that left his bladder exposed.

Sinner and Jerry Felicity Desjarlais — both alleged to have been members of the group from the alley — were each charged with attempted murder at that time.

Desjarlais later pleaded guilty instead to uttering threats against one of the two injured men.

The attempted murder charges were subsequently stayed by the Crown in her case.