233050
232178

Kelowna  

Deadly 'sucker punch'

UPDATE 9:20 p.m.

The jury has indicated it has concluded deliberations for the evening.

A verdict will not be rendered Monday night.


ORIGINAL STORY 5 p.m.

The jury in a manslaughter case against Cory Richard Eric Van Gilder heard closing arguments from the defence and crown counsel, Monday.

Zachary Gaudette died in hospital, after Van Gilder hit Gaudette in the neck with what Crown described as a “sucker punch," outside the Cactus Club Restaurant.

“(Gaudette) was severely intoxicated,” said defence lawyer Jeff Campbell. “He was in an angry, agitated state.”

At the time of the incident, 30-year-old Gaudette had a blood alcohol level of .276.

Witnesses described him as red in the face, sweating and heard him say: “I’ll fight everybody here, I’ll fight any one of you, I would snatch any one of you..."

“Gaudette was going to explode. It was just a question of time. When he confronted those young people outside Cactus Club, he had a knife in his pocket,” Campbell said in court.

Police found his unconscious body on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

Van Gilder was arrested almost five months after the incident.

Van Gilder has a professional MMA fighting background and fought one fight in a “King of the Cage” match in Edmonton in 2010 in which he beat Ken Kerfont in the first round by referee stoppage from strikes.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Vandersluys said the question was whether the punch that caused Gaudette’s death was an unlawful act.

“Mr. Van Gilder steps up to Mr. Gaudette, turns his hat around and swings a right hook that connects to the left side of Mr. Gaudette's face, just below the ear, in the neck,” he said to the jury.

“The moment of the punch sends Mr. Van Gilder moving forward, requiring him to take a step to steady himself. That is a hard punch. This is a punch of someone who wants to cause hurt.”

Campbell said he was “protecting” the crowd from Gaudette.

“He did have time to consider his options. He did have other ways at his disposal for his perceived threat other than the right hook to Mr. Gaudette's neck,” said Vandersluys. “Common sense tell you to walk away, there was 20 to 30 seconds to leave.”

The jury is now deliberating.



More Kelowna News



232391