A Penticton teenager charged with the stabbing death of a 25-year-old man near Skaha Beach almost two years ago has pled guilty to manslaughter.
A B.C. Supreme Court second-degree murder trial had been scheduled to start Monday in Penticton. However, Crown counsel Vern Frolick said the trial was cancelled after the youth recently pleaded guilty to the lesser-included charge of manslaughter.
The youth, who was 16 at the time of the incident, also pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault against a second man in the altercation.
Peter Deschaine died of wounds sustained in a fight near the Skaha Beach concession building at about 1 a.m.
May 24, 2008. The man had moved to Penticton from Windsor, Ont., about two months earlier.
Frolick said Monday the manslaughter guilty plea came following a joint agreement between the Crown and the defence lawyer to proceed with the lesser charge.
“I think it‘s appropriate,” Frolick said.
The youth is represented by Brent Bagnall, who formerly served as a Crown counsel in Penticton prior to moving to Victoria to become a defence lawyer a few years ago.
The accused is due back in court on May 3 to fix a date for sentencing. Frolick noted it still must be determined whether he will be sentenced as a youth or bumped up to adult court.
There is a ban on publication of evidence presented in court proceedings to date.
According to police reports at the time, a crowd of about 100 young
people had been partying on the beach late the night of May 23, 2008, when a melee broke out near the beach firepit.
Deschaine ended up being stabbed as the altercation continued. A second man, John Bernier, was injured in the incident.
RCMP cordoned off the park the next day as a police dog helped determine exactly where the stabbing occurred. Several people who were at the scene at the time were also
interviewed.
A second-degree murder charge was laid against a 19-year-old Penticton man shortly afterward. However, that charge was dropped a few days later when the Crown laid charges against the 16-year-old suspect.
The youth, now 18, cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He is currently free on bail, staying at a supervised youth “bail hostel” outside the Penticton area.
