CALGARY — No one will be held criminally responsible for a swarming attack nearly three years ago which left a Calgary teen with brain damage.
Citing problems with witnesses and the techniques police used to use to get them to talk, Crown prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee stayed all assault charges against the final two accused before the court.
Blair Palmer, 18, and three youths were injured in the early morning attack in the city’s southwest community of Strathcona in 2007.
The last of the two accused assailants each pleaded guilty to causing a disturbance, while one admitted an additional charge of possession of a weapon, a baseball bat, for a dangerous purpose.
They’ll be sentenced in September.
Outside court, Robert Palmer said he was “hugely disappointed” that none of the approximately 40 teens there that night have come forward to tell the truth.
“It’s important to understand that nobody ever thought we we’re necessarily going to get a conviction, but we did ... hope that by the end of this we would get a clearer picture of what happened,” he said.
The attackers used bats, golf clubs and other weapons during the swarming.
Blair Palmer had to have five surgeries and was in intensive care for 10 days.
His brain injury has also left him an epileptic.
“He’s been given a life sentence,” his dad said.
Last week, Judge Lillian McLellan denied an application to have a witness’ taped statement to police entered as evidence, ruling police asked several leading questions of the reluctant teen.
“So many kids who gave differing versions of events or no version of events, a lot of the young people didn’t want to talk about what happened,” commented defence lawyer Ryan Claxton.
Three other teens have already pleaded guilty to assault and were sentenced to probation.