A Summerland man was found guilty of assault after a judge dismissed his version of the situation as “fantastical.”
Garret Cole Sedawie was deemed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in Penticton court on June 3 of assaulting another man in Summerland on Nov. 26, 2021.
On that day, he encountered his victim and tossed him to the ground.
The exact manner in which his victim was sent to the ground was disputed, as the victim described it as both a “power bomb” and “leg sweep,” but that piece of semantics didn’t change the overall facts.
In addition to the victim’s testimony, including a statement given to police the day after the incident, photographs of the scrapes to the victims knees and his dislocated finger were entered into Crown’s evidence.
Testimony from the RCMP did state that no witness was ever found for the incident.
However, Sedawie’s testimony and proposed explanation for the event was dismissed by the judge.
Sedawie had claimed that he was nowhere near his victim, and that the victim had been so focused on glaring at him that he tripped and fell, injuring himself.
“Mr. Sedawie’s evidence was convoluted and often non-responsive to the questions asked of him,” said the judge. “His evidence was sometimes hard to follow but very detailed and sometimes his evidence didn’t make sense.”
In addition to the testimony from Sedawie being convoluted, the judge also found that Sedawie had gone into rants accusing others of conspiracies. This testimony has derailed a different assault case against Sedawie that is now awaiting an assessment of his fitness to stand trial.
“He made serious allegations against the complainant, his ex-girlfriend, his family members, a lawyer and many police officers,” said the judge.
“I agree with the crown’s submission that Mr. Sedawie’s claims were fantastical and lacked any ring of truth.”
Sentencing for Sedawie will take place at a later, currently unset date.
The judge ordered a separate psychiatric report to be done in addition to the pre-sentencing report.