Cyclist convicted of assault for spitting on driver during North Kamloops road rage altercation

Photo: Castanet

A Kamloops cyclist who spit on a driver a year ago during a road-rage altercation on the North Shore has been found guilty of assault and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Devon Steven McConnell, 43, was found guilty on Thursday following an earlier trial in Kamloops provincial court.

McConnell was riding his bike just before noon on June 14, 2022, near the intersection of Clapperton Road and Wilson Street.

Court heard McConnell became upset with the driver of a pickup truck who he thought cut him off. He confronted him and spat through an open window, hitting the man in the ear, face, shoulder and arm.

McConnell then grabbed a chain out of his bike wagon and swung it at the truck, striking it once near the wheel well.

Kamloops provincial court Judge Marianne Armstrong found McConnell guilty of assault and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, namely the chain, but acquitted him on one count of mischief.

“The act of intentionally spitting at another person constitutes an intentional application of non-consensual force,” she said.

“There is no suggestion that the spitting was an act of self-defence.”

Lawyers will return to court in July to set a date for McConnell’s sentencing.

He is not in custody.