Jailed for nightclub 'ambush'

Photo: Colin Dacre

A young Penticton man has been sentenced to 10 months in jail for a pair of serious assaults, one of them a savage “ambush” outside the Mule nightclub.

Damien Keddie, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing bodily harm stemming from two attacks last year.

Crown prosecutor John Swanson told the courtroom police were called to the Mule nightclub on Martin Street on Aug. 12, 2017 at 3:15 a.m. for a report of a man being attacked by a group.

The victim told police he exited the nightclub and saw a person who motioned that he wanted to talk to him in a nearby alleyway. The victim followed, and was met by three men who promptly attacked him.

“This was basically an ambush of a drunk coming out of a bar, an ambush by a group of people,” Swanson said.

Defence lawyer Nelson Selamaj took some exception to the Crown calling the assault an “ambush” — noting there was previous confrontation in the club involving Keddie’s friend and the victim — but admitted it was not a consensual fight the victim was attacked three on one, and never fought back.

The victim suffered facial fractures and required stitches, but no lasting injuries.

Keddie was also sentenced for an assault just two months prior on June 12. One of his friends had been involved in a consensual fight at Princess Margaret Secondary, and arrangements were made to continue the fight at another location later in the day.

When the complainants arrived at the agreed upon location in their car, they spotted a much larger (both in number and stature) group people and turned the car around and tried to drive away.

As they were leaving, the car stalled, and Keddie and one of his friends began punching the victims through the car windows. Keddie threw between five and eight punches.

The two incidents make up the fifth and sixth assault convictions for Keddie, who last served 94 days for an assault causing bodily harm.

The Crown sought a 18 month total sentence, while the defence asked for 10-13 months.

During his lengthy closing arguments, Selamaj painted a picture of his client that has owned up to his actions, is remorseful, and has turned a corner on his life for the first time.

“Mr. Keddie does not want me to say, on his behalf, that he’s been unlucky, that you should feel sorry for him,” Selamaj said. “He knows that for a period of his life that he did not appreciate the breaks he was given.”

He explained that Keddie has since moved to White Rock with his mother and has offers of employment from family.

In handing down her sentence, Judge Michelle Daneliuk said she could not ignore Keddie's violent past and chastised him for violently inserting himself into incidents that had nothing to do with him, but spoke optimistically about support from his family.

He was sentenced to eight months for the nightclub attack and 60 days for the after-school fight for a total of 300 days behind bars.

Daneliuk allowed Keddie to hug his family goodbye before being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, which he did so in tears.