Judge set to deliver verdict in Rosetown man’s Christmas Eve confrontation
By Ian MacKay
A judge is to give his verdict today (Tuesday) in Kindersley in a trial involving Derek Skene, 49, of Rosetown.
Police charged Skene with assault causing bodily harm after learning about an altercation in a local back alley on Dec. 24. A man reported later that he’d suffered a small puncture wound to his chest after Skene fell into him. A security-camera video, taken from near Skene’s back door, showed the accused holding onto a dog jumping around on a leash before falling into the man.
Judge Bruce Bauer, slated to preside at Kindersley provincial court on Tuesday, saw six photos of the damage to the victim and his clothing during the Sept, 25 provincial court trial at the Elks hall. The exhibits included a photo of a hole in a T-shirt the victim said he’d received that evening for Christmas. Skene didn’t testify.
The man hadn’t noticed the wound until later, he testified. He’d been at a family gathering, where he drank one beer, and was returning home in the back seat of a vehicle, he testified.
Skene almost stepped into the path of the vehicle and began yelling at it, the video appears to show. Moments later, the video showed three people walking toward him. The victim was challenging Skene to fight while they traded insults, the victim testified.
The incident happens soon after, then the accused runs between the people back to his residence, where the victim remained outside yelling at him. The accused was yelling from the door, the victim said. This lasted for 20 to 30 minutes as he waited for a police officer to arrive, he testified.
However, a serious accident west of town kept available officers busy, he said. Police later called and told him to go home. The victim went to the police station the next day to make a statement, where some of the photos were taken, court heard.
“There was no question that bodily harm occurred,” Judge Bauer said during the defence lawyer’s argument. The lawyer argued that the contact was unintentional and that the contact “looks like a stumble and push.”