Kristopher Teichrieb.

Image Credit: Contributed

KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops man is facing seven years in prison after pleading to the aggravated assault of Jessie Simpson today.

Kristopher Shaun Teichrieb, 41, brutally beat Jessie Simpson, who was 18 years old at the time, into a coma on June 19, 2016 with an aluminum baseball bat. Crown prosecutor Wendy Stephen said Crown and defence agreed to a sentence of seven years imprisonment. 

Teichrieb pleaded guilty today, Oct. 23, in Kamloops Supreme Court.

Court heard today that the brutal beating occurred for Teichrieb after several other incidents in the Brocklehurst neighbourhood. In the weeks and months before the assault, he was a witness to several criminal or violent incidents in his neighbourhood including a graphic suicide attempt. Stephen said police records showed dozens of Emergency 911 calls from the area around that time. 

In calls from Teichrieb to 911, he was recorded saying: "Some vigilante shit could go down."

In the early morning hours of June 19, 2016 on the city’s North Shore, police say Teichrieb was at his home in Brocklehurst when he saw another man in his driveway.

The Crown says prior to the aggravated assault, Simpson was at a house party at a residence roughly 1.5 kilometres from Teichrieb's residence. Simpson was celebrating on the night of June 18, 2016. 

"Everyone at the party was in a good mood and there were no altercations," Stephen told a Kamloops courtroom.

Simpson ended up falling asleep on the couch of the residence he was partying at and around four in the morning, he was asked by the homeowners to leave because they were going to bed.

"Mr. Simpson's friends left while he was in the bathroom and the homeowners told him the direction (they) had gone, and Mr. Simpson followed," Stephen said, adding that Simpson left the party uninjured.

Court heard today that on June 19, 2016, Teichrieb's dogs began barking and when he went to observe what was going on, he noticed a man walking towards the back of his residence.

Teichrieb went outside to confront the man while taking an aluminum baseball bat with him. A 911 call was placed at 4:30 a.m. by Teichrieb while trying to apprehend Simpson. 

"While on the phone with the 911 operator, you can hear shouting between Mr. Teichrieb and another male... both voices sounded confrontational," the crown says.

Teichrieb and Simpson engaged in a fist fight before Simpson eventually ran away. However, Teichrieb pursued the victim for about 80 to 90 metres before he struck Simpson with a baseball bat, his fists and his feet.

Simpson was bleeding profusely and lying on the ground. Multiple witnesses in the area called 911 and say they heard Teichrieb saying something along the lines of "stay the fuck out of my yard, why were you in my yard".

Simpson's mother, Susana, was in court today and submitted a victim impact statement which was read by the crown.

"I am struggling... my life has been changed forever," the statement says. "Jessie will never be able to fulfill his dreams."

The statement also described the condition that Simpson has been in since the beating.

"Mr. Simpson's injuries are catastrophic," Justice Dev Dley told a Kamloops courtroom today. "Mr. Simpson was unarmed... and the attack continued while (Simpson) laid motionless."

Dley went on to state Teichrieb was sober and Simpson was drunk when the assault took place. 

"Mr. Teichrieb was acting as a vigilante... he was told several times by police not to take matters into his own hands," Dley says.

Friends of Simpson’s family say the young man’s health has fluctuated since the incident. According to his mother's victim impact statement, Simpson has been in and out of long-term care facilities and needs 24/7 care.

"He is 100 per cent dependent on caregivers, he has lost vision in one eye and has to be mechanically lifted from bed... Jessie is bedridden," the statement says.

Teichrieb was granted bail back in August but was put on house arrest with electronic monitoring. His bail was set at $100,000.

Find past stories on the Teichrieb case here.

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