FILE PHOTO.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

At 4 a.m., a Vernon teen armed with a small axe and carrying a machete in his bag arrived at the door of 33-year-old Gaered Petruk.

Wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap, with his face covered with a mask, the teen was there to seek revenge.

What that revenge was for was left purposely opaque at the Vernon courthouse yesterday, Aug. 23, but it wasn't the teen on trial.

What happened next was caught in clear colour footage on the surveillance camera of a nearby gas station.

The teen fled the house running several blocks before tripping over in the gas station forecourt.

Moments behind him was Petruk who instantly began stomping on his head.

Petruk then grabbed the teen's axe and repetitively hit him with it before continuing to kick him in the head.

The teen remained lifeless throughout the attack.

Petruk then lifted the teen onto his shoulder and took the 18-year-old back to his house and soon after the police arrived.

Two months later in February 2021, Petruk and his girlfriend Sarah Hoard were both charged with aggravated assault.

Charges against Hoard were later dropped.

Crown prosecutor Brock Bellrichard told the court Petruk's actions were in line with vigilantism and argued for a 28 to 36-month jail sentence.

The court heard that the teen spent a week in hospital after the attack, and it was amazing he wasn't left with long-lasting health side effects.

Defence lawyer Justin Dosanjh told the court that Petruk was very frustrated following several other incidents where people had come to his home late at night and threatened him. He'd called the police several times over the months but the visits still happened.

With such clear video evidence, Petruk pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, however his version of events that led to the assault was quite different from that of the teen.

The teen testified he met a homeless person in Polson Park at 4 a.m. and offered him $50 if he would help smash up Petruk's vehicles.

The teen and the homeless man, who was not identified in the course of the police investigation, then headed over to Petruk's house.

Surveillance footage showed the two men, with their faces covered, standing at Petruk's backdoor.

With the mistaken belief that antifreeze is flammable, the homeless man was carrying a container of the liquid thinking he could use it as a makeshift Molotov cocktail.

The teen then spotted a camera and reached up and removed it, before destroying it.

The teen denied ever entering the house and said the door was locked.

Speaking from the witness box the teen said he was there for "revenge."

"I wanted to know why I ended up in that house," he said.

The teen said he didn't know who lived there but he'd been in the house some weeks earlier. The teen didn't say what had happened to him.

Justice Terence Schultes questioned both lawyers if this piece of information would be given to the court, but neither was forthcoming.

Outside the courtroom, the teen refused to tell iNFOnews.ca why he was seeking revenge.

Petruk's version of the events was different.

He said at 4 a.m. he was still up drinking with a friend when he heard his girlfriend scream from the kitchen.

He walked in to find the teen standing in his kitchen, his face covered with a mask and holding an axe.

He said the teen bolted and he chased after him.

Petruk testified the teen then stopped and swung the small axe at him before he continued.

The 33-year-old said he didn't know the teen.

Petruk told the court he could have locked the door and called the police, but instead he chased after the teen.

"I wasn't thinking anything out... I thought he was a threat," he said.

Petruk said he'd snorted two lines of cocaine that night but the effects of the drug had worn off by the time the teen appeared.

As the two stories differ the lawyers for either side argued about how much Petruk was provoked.

The level of provocation would affect what sentence the justice handed down.

While the Crown wanted 28 to 36 months, the defence argued Petruk should receive a sentence of time already served in custody. Petruk has been behind bars since his arrest 18 months ago.

After a full day in the courtroom, Justice Schultes adjourned the case to come to a decision at a later date.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022