‘Vigilante justice’

P.E.I. man sentenced to one year in jail for crimes including assault on senior citizen

A P.E.I. man whose assault on a senior citizen included hitting him over the head with a painting and a lamp was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail.

John David Reid, 28, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Georgetown where he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a weapon, possession of stolen property and two counts of breaching his probation.

Crown attorney Gerald Quinn told the court the victim was asleep when he heard a knock on his apartment door.

When the victim, who is in his 70s, opened the door, he recognized Reid.

Once he was inside the apartment, Reid hit the victim numerous times, including with a painting, a lamp and his fists.

Reid flipped the victim’s bed and threatened to kill him.

Quinn said the victim was pleading for his life and Reid eventually left the scene.

The court heard a neighbour overheard the assault and recognized Reid’s voice.

Quinn said Reid’s significant other told him the victim assaulted her, which led to the attack.

The Crown vetted the file and there were no charges in connection with the alleged assault after it was determined there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction, Quinn said.

In a separate incident, Reid went to a liquor store in Montague despite a condition of his probation banning him from all P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission stores and outlets.

Reid addressed the court before hearing his sentence and said he regretted what he did.

“If I could, I’d take it back,” he said.

Referring to Reid’s reason for assaulting the victim, Orr said the police are there to investigate crimes.

“We do not have vigilante justice in this country,” she said.

Orr said the sentence will bring home to Reid and anyone else of a similar mind that there will be consequences when it comes to vigilante justice.

Reid has been in custody since his arrest and with credit for time served Orr reduced his sentence by 165 days.

Along with the jail time, Reid will be under a weapons prohibition for 10 years and must provide a DNA sample for the national databank. He must also pay $160 in restitution.