Two-and-a-half years for bar fight, cutting | THE DAILY HERALD

PHILIPSBURG–The Court of First Instance last week sentenced Jean Luc Gouin (22) to two years and six months in prison, of which six months are suspended, on two years’ probation, for cutting another man in the face with a knife in a Simpson Bay bar on June 22.

During the October 23 trial, video evidence showed Gouin and another man engaged in a heated discussion in the crowded bar. During the argument, Gouin took a knife out of his left pocket, opened it with both hands, and then held it in his left hand.

Without warning, the other man started hitting Gouin with his right hand. Both men fell to the ground in the fight and proceeded to struggle with each other. Bystanders pulled the fighting men apart.

The complainant said he went to the bathroom and saw that his face had been cut. He drove himself to the hospital for treatment and received stitches to his face. He showed the scar at the trial, which extended from the corner of his mouth to the middle of his neck.

At the hearing, Gouin admitted to taking out a knife that night and having it in his hand.

For this crime, the prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of two years and six months, of which six were to be suspended.

Gouin’s lawyer Shaira Bommel requested that her client be acquitted of the charges. She argued that Gouin had no intention of inflicting serious bodily injury.

In the verdict, the judge found Gouin had intentionally caused physical injury and sentenced him according to the prosecutor’s demands.

“Withdrawing a knife in the direction of an opponent is an action that, by its nature, takes place intentionally. Every adult knows the danger of knives and knows that bringing a knife to fight brings a huge risk of serious injury. The suspect has pulled a knife in a fistfight and with it has given his opponent a gaping flesh wound in the face.

“… The face of the declarant … has received a completely different look. Such a violent offence with such serious consequences requires a prison sentence of considerable duration,” said the court.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/92424-two-and-a-half-years-for-bar-fight-cutting

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