E-bike rider gets stabbed in back, neck, court hears
A man who stabbed a stranger multiple times following an altercation on Merritt Trail has been ordered to undergo an assessment to determine if he was criminally responsible for his actions.
Richard Stephen was arrested in May 2023 after Niagara Regional Police responded to the trail near Martindale Road in St. Catharines and found a man suffering from multiple stab wounds.
The 56-year-old Stephen pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Ontario Court of Justice in Welland to a charge of assault causing bodily harm.
After an agreed statement of facts was read into court, Judge Deborah Calderwood conceded to a request by the Crown that the offender undergo a not-criminally responsible (NCR) assessment at St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton.
The matter is expected to return to court later this month.
Sentencing may proceed at that time, the judge explained, based on the results of the assessment, or the matter may be adjourned to another date.
On May 25, at about 3:15 p.m., court heard, Stephen was walking his dog along the trail when he crossed paths with a 47-year-old man riding a scooter.
The two men were not known to each other, said assistant Crown attorney Michael Lucifora.
“The accused became irate with the victim because he believed the scooter was scaring his dog,” he told the judge.
The defendant poked the victim in the chest with a stick, causing him to fall from the scooter.
The confrontation continued and the offender pulled out a knife and stabbed the man in the back and neck.
The defendant fled the scene after the assault.
The victim was transported to hospital, where he received stitches and staples to close his wounds.
“The victim suffered multiple puncture wounds,” the Crown said.
The NRP emergency task unit, with the assistance of crisis negotiators and members of the community-oriented response and engagement (CORE) unit, converged on the defendant’s home and he was subsequently arrested.
Court heard Stephen was deemed unfit to stand trial in November 2023 following a fitness hearing.
He has remained at the Hamilton hospital under a treatment order and was subsequently deemed fit to stand trial.