One of the two youths facing charges related to last year’s pre-graduation party altercations had his matter adjourned for the second time.
The young person, who cannot be identified because of his age, was charged with assaulting Gerald Lester Whitford at the party held at Sunset Lake campground on June 8, 2017. Altercations during the party resulted in three individuals being taken to hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
According to Dan McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the B.C. Prosecution Service, the young person, who had already had his matter adjourned to July 9, had a further adjournment to Sept. 10, 2018 to consult with counsel.
If the individual pleads guilty, a trial will not be held, and the next step will be for the judge to decide the appropriate sentence. If the youth pleads not guilty, a trial date will be set, and both Crown and defence counsel will then estimate the amount of time they believe will be required for the trial.
The co-accused, who was also charged with assaulting Whitford, was given a conditional release last month. He was placed on probation for 12 months with a number of conditions.
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Whitford had originally been charged with three counts of aggravated assault for altercations that occurred during the pre-graduation party, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of assault with a weapon. He was sentenced to a nine-month conditional sentence to be followed by one year of probation last February.
Whitford’s parents, however, said they were not pleased with the results of the investigation and have pleaded for more witnesses to come forward. They believe that further investigation could not only bolster the prosecution’s case against the two youths, but also lead to more people being charged with assaulting their son.
The RCMP and the B.C. Prosecution Service have not commented on this case given that matters arising from the assault upon Whitford remain before the court.
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