A former Prince George man should learn early in the new year the penalty he will receive for his role in a home invasion and assault three years ago that left one victim with extensive injuries.
Crown prosecution is seeking a sentence of two to three years in jail followed by probation while defence counsel is suggesting no more than two years for John Geofferey Last, 29.
During a sentencing hearing Thursday in Prince George provincial court, the court heard that Last and co-accused Chris Andrew Hornby, 23, burst into a 2000 block Central Street home on the night of Oct. 10, 2011, and used a baseball bat and either a cattle prod or a Taser to attack two men.
One of the victims suffered serious injuries as a result of being hit on the head and arms about five times with the bat. The other was punched, shocked with an electrical device and knocked unconscious, the court was told.
The two had been acting in the name of another man, who had gotten into a shoving match with one of the victims earlier in the evening over a dispute involving a girlfriend. After the victim had left the scene, the man called in Last and Hornby and, claiming he had been beaten with a hammer, urged them to go after his foe.
The precise relationship between the man and Last and Hornby was not made clear in court. The man has never been charged in relation to the incident.
The incident occurred during a period when Last was involved significantly in the local crime scene and was involved in a failed scheme concocted by Jamie Hal Hammerstrom, 38, to sell stolen firearms to raise money for his bail. Last received an 18-month conditional sentence order while Hammerstrom was sentenced to a further 18 months behind bars in late June.
But in January 2012, Hornby turned himself into police and after moving back to Kelowna, where he grew up, has changed his life around, the court was told. He is now gainfully employed and has kept out of trouble while also receiving treatment for some mental health issues.
Just as a trial was about to begin in November 2013, Last decided he would plead guilty to a charge of assault with a weapon. Hornby, meanwhile, had intended to plead guilty to a charge related to the matter and also face sentencing Thursday but was unable to do so because the charges against him were arraigned before a different judge.
Part of the hearing was spent on deciding whether Last was eligible for a conditional sentence. After hearing submissions from both Crown and defence counsels, judge Michael Brecknell decided he was not.
Brecknell will give his final decision on sentencing early in the new year.
