A Red Deer man who stabbed another man in the chest, narrowly missing his heart, during a downtown brawl was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Anthony G. Clermont, 25, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and breach of probation in Red Deer provincial court on Wednesday.
A charge of possession of a weapon dangerous to the public was dropped.
The violent confrontation happened about 11:30 p.m. last Aug. 31.
Clermont had been at home when a friend phoned him to tell him there was trouble brewing at the nightclub and he had no money and wanted to go home.
Clermont went to help and soon after arriving in a taxi got into an altercation with a pair of men outside the X-Static nightclub at 4605 50th Ave.
Clermont stabbed a 21-year-old man twice in the chest, the wounds coming within five centimetres of his heart.
The victim, who had been at the club celebrating a birthday with family members, lost two litres of blood.
He is expected to fully recover.
Clermont tried to flee but was arrested by police and taken into custody. Some of the mayhem was captured on video surveillance cameras.
Crown prosecutor Tony Bell asked for a sentence of 18 to 24 months, noting that Clermont was under probation at the time of the offence.
Clermont had previously been convicted for possessing bear spray and has a lengthy criminal record, including drug convictions.
Defence lawyer Walter Kubanek said Clermont had no intention of fighting when he went to join his friend.
He was retreating from confrontation with an aggressive assailant when the stabbing occurred. Clermont was slugged at least once in the jaw during the fight.
“He does not appear to have been the aggressor,” Kubanek told provincial court judge Gordon Deck.
Kubanek asked for a sentence of 12 months with 1 1/2 days credit for the five months his client has spent in custody.
Clermont told the judge he regretted putting himself in a position where he made a “really bad decision.”
He said he is not a violent person and a day doesn’t pass without him wishing he could take back what happened.
Deck sentenced Clermont to 15 months for aggravated assault, and 15 days, to run concurrently, for the breach charge.
He gave Clermont one day credit for each day in jail, leaving him with nine months and three weeks to serve.
Clermont was also given a 10-year weapons prohibition and most provide a sample of his DNA to a national database.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com