Fighting death outside nightspot yields prison term

A Prince George man has been sentenced to three years in prison for manslaughter in relation to a drunken fight outside a Fort St. John nightspot.

Joel Christopher Marchand, 31, was issued the term for the death of Chris Ball, 39, after a jury found him guilty following a 10-day trial.

Ball, a Calgary native, was taken off life support at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, 11 days after he was allegedly sucker punched during the early morning hours of July 23, 2012.

According to a sentencing decision from B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nathan Smith, Matthew Brown, a friend of Ball's, took issue with some comments about Ball's behaviour as two groups who had been drinking in separate bars, came across each other near the corner of 100th St. and 100th Ave.

Brown returned with Ball a short time later. Ball's blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit for driving but apart from being verbally aggressive, Smith found there was no evidence of any "overtly violent or threatening conduct."

A confrontation ensured, initiated solely by one of Marchand's friends, Ted Metcalfe, who broke Ball's nose with a punch then turned on Brown who either fell or was knocked to the ground.

Telling Metcalfe he's got his back, Marchand, who owned a home in Prince George but had been working in the B.C. Peace, then stepped in and punched Brown when he got back up, breaking his jaw and leaving him flat on the ground.

Ball then stepped forward but with his arms at his sides and Marchand punched him in the head. Ball fell immediately to the ground and the back of his head hit the pavement. Smith said there was no evidence of Ball raising his fists or attempting to throw a punch.

Nor, "for all his earlier bluster," was Ball a threat to either Marchand or Metcalfe, and Smith found Ball was an "unprotected, unsuspecting drunk" who did not see the punch coming.

And while Marchand was far from being a professional fighter, he had an interest in mixed martial arts and "had to be aware of the risk that his punches could have a greater force and accuracy than those of the average person who gets into a drunken street fight."

However, Smith said Marchand did not intend to kill Ball, which is why he was charged with manslaughter, not murder.

Crown prosecution had been seeking a sentenced of four to six years in prison while defence had argued time already served in custody plus three years probation was appropriate.

In settling on three years, Smith noted Marchand had a previous conviction for aggravated assault, committed 10 years before.

Smith gave Marchand credit of 219 days time served in pre-trial custody and sentenced him to a concurrent one year for the attack on Brown.

Both Marchand and Metcalfe, who is from Kelowna, were initially charged with aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm but when Ball died, the aggravated assault charge was upgraded to manslaughter. Ball's family had been seeking a charge of second-degree murder.

Charges against Metcalfe were stayed in February 2013.

The term for Marchand was issued Nov. 27 and posted online this week.