VANCOUVER — A Victoria man has lost his appeal after being convicted of using a tire iron to assault a man who had been having sex with the accused’s girlfriend at the time of the attack.
On March 6, 2015, a provincial court judge found Tyronne James Nikolas Baier guilty of break and enter, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats.
Court heard that on Nov. 4, 2013, Baier broke down the front door of the apartment of his girlfriend, Kimberlie Gilbert, and began attacking a man named Jan Jansen. Jansen was also involved in an intimate relationship with Gilbert.
Baier threatened to kill Jansen if he returned. The victim, suffering from injuries including a broken nose and cheekbone, fled the apartment and went to a hospital, where staff called the police.
After the attack, Gilbert also left the apartment and was later in the company of Baier at his apartment and again at a grocery store.
Baier had texted Gilbert before the attack, asking if she was having fun, and again shortly after the assault, telling her to hurry up.
At trial, the only issue was the identification of the assailant, as details of the attack itself were admitted.
Jansen, who had never met Baier and did not know what he looked like, testified that he got a clear look at his assailant’s face and identified the accused from a photo lineup and again at trial.
The Crown subpoenaed Gilbert but she did not attend the trial and the prosecution did not seek a warrant compelling her to testify.
The judge convicted Baier based on the photo lineup and corroborative circumstantial evidence.
Baier raised a number of grounds of appeal, including that the judge had incorrectly assessed evidence favourable to the defence and improperly relied on hearsay evidence.
But a three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal has rejected those arguments.
“In light of the conclusions I have reached on the errors contended by the appellant, I would not find that the verdict is unreasonable,” Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon said in her reasons for judgment. Justice Mary Saunders and Justice David Frankel agreed and the appeal was dismissed.
