Penticton and South Okanagan

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Kevin Woods enters Penticton Court House

A simple request for a cigarette led to a violent attack at his apartment complex, a Penticton man said in a courtroom on Tuesday.

Kenneth Robertson was one of a handful of witnesses testifying on the first day of the trial for Kevin Woods.

Woods faces assault charges linked to the alleged attack on July 13 , 2011 at 130 Skaha Place.

Robertson claims he was knocking on the door of a friend's apartment to borrow a "smoke" when Woods came out of his apartment, swore at him, then came at him with a bar and a knife.

During the tussle that followed, he was clipped in the stomach by the knife and hit three to four times by the bar.

"He just came out and said what is all the racket about, and I said, what's your problem," explained Robertson. "Then he came running down and I put up my hands. It all happened so fast in a split second."

A second witness and neighbour, Christine McDonald, testified she heard Robertson ask Woods for a cigarette and also say "leave my little sister alone."

She claims he often referred to her as his little sister. The two were longtime acquaintances, who used cocaine together. She was not using that day and has since gone back to school to be a counselor.

When she opened her door and looked out, she described being horrified and scared by what she saw.

"Kevin just went mental and attacked Kenny," she said. "He is a very dangerous guy; it's a little like he just goes black."

After the stabbing, he began beating him around the lower back and legs as Robertson lay in a fetal position on the floor. He also dragged the knife along the wall leaving a mark behind, she claimed.

Earlier in the day, an RCMP officer said he observed the scratch on the wall as well as a chunk of it at the apartment building.

The trial, with seven witnesses, including civilians and RCMP officers, is expected to continue Wednesday; although, Crown counsel Catherine Crockett says it could be adjourned due to a scheduling conflict.