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(ASHLEY LEGASSIC - REPORTER / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - Despite reviewing cell phone footage and poking holes in a defendant's "carefully woven" testimony surrounding an altercation outside of a Kamloops bar, a Supreme Court Judge has found a local man not guilty of aggravated assault.

Kolbi Duncan Krohn was charged with aggravated assault after an altercation outside of Cactus Jacks in downtown Kamloops in September 2015. He was accused of kicking the victim in the head.

Corlin Georget, now 22 years old, was injured after being sucker-punched in the incident by another man, Supreme Court Justice Heather MacNaughton said in a written decision.

Georget and a friend were celebrating his birthday at Cactus Jack's the night of Sept. 19, 2015 and into the early morning hours of Sept. 20. Krohn was also there with Spencer Huber and Tory Jones, all three of whom are more than six feet tall and weighing more than 230 pounds each.

MacNaughton says in her decision that an altercation inside the bar was taken outside, and Georget left to meet his cousin who was picking him up.

When Georget and his friend, Tyler White, left the bar and crossed the street, Georget was sucker-punched in the head at least twice by Huber, MacNaughton said, adding that Georget was in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the altercation involved White and Huber.

Huber believed White had pushed over a woman in the club, which White denies. MacNaughton says everyone involved, other than Georget, knew there was going to be a fight.

"After the assault was over, Mr. Georget was left unconscious, in a pool of blood, against the wall of what was then the casino in downtown Kamloops," MacNaughton says. "He suffered serious wounds to his head, which required stitches and resulted in visible scarring. He had a major concussion and was off work for a week and suffered headaches for a month or two thereafter."

A witness recorded the minute-long fight on his phone, and it was shown in court. MacNaughton said Krohn can be seen in the video making a soccer-like kicking motion.

But Krohn testified he was actually trying to kick bystanders away from the fight, and said he did not connect with Georget's head, although an audible thud could be heard in the video immediately after the kicking motion, MacNaughton said.

"His explanation for the kicking motion was that he kicked out at the feet of the bystanders to break up the fight," she said. "His explanation for why the kick did not connect was that, when he saw Mr. Georget lying prone on the ground and unconscious, he braced himself against the wall and stopped his leg from contacting Mr. Georget. Mr. Krohn said that he would never kick an unconscious person."

She adds that the video does not depict an attempt to break up the fight. 

Krohn testified that when he was leaving the bar he expected a fight but not a group fight. MacNaughton said this was inconsistent with his evidence that Huber came back into the club and told Krohn and others he was there to grab his friends.

"Mr. Krohn can be seen on the video moving forward quickly towards the casino wall where Mr. Georget is lying on the ground," MacNaughton said. "There is no suggestion that his friends are at risk of being attacked in an unfair fight and that there is a need to kick bystanders out of the way."

She said it "belies common sense" that Krohn, who was running in with a stated intent of kicking the legs out from a bystander, was able to process Georget lying unconscious on the ground and stop his kick mid-motion. Krohn couldn't explain why if he was running to break up the fight, he didn't stay to ensure it was broken up, instead walking away.

Krohn's evidence was also carefully woven to account for all of the injuries suffered by Georget, MacNaughton said. She did not believe Krohn's evidence and believe he did intend to kick Georget.

However, she acquitted Krohn largely due to part of the video and White's testimony. White was the only eye witness who said Georget was kicked in the head by Krohn.

"I have concluded that I must treat Mr. White’s evidence with caution," she said. "That is because I cannot be certain about how much of Mr. White’s evidence is based on what he saw in the video of the events... and how much he actually remembered."

She said there was a significant risk White's evidence was influenced by watching the video, as he couldn't remember mostly anything from the night and had seen the video before giving his statement to police.

In her conclusion, MacNaughton said although it's possible the thud heard on the video is a kick connecting with Georget's body, the sound is followed by a second thud which is unconnected with Krohn's actions.

"The second thud remained unexplained. I am therefore unable to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the first thud is Mr. Krohn’s kick landing."

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