Crown prosecution is seeking as much as two years in prison for a Fort St. James man found guilty of stabbing a Prince George man in the neck, an act that was described as unprovoked and inexplicable and came close to creating more serious consequences for the victim.
Johnathon Riely Nicholls, 24, was found guilty in December 2012 of aggravated assault for the April 23, 2011 in a Prince George apartment building that left the victim with four stab wounds to his upper body.
The victim managed to get out of his apartment and alert the building manager who rushed him to hospital where he was treated for his wounds.
On Monday, Crown prosecutor Shannon Keyes suggested there was more to the attack and noted that during the trial, the victim testified he initially thought he was being choked while photos of his injuries showed a scratch all the way around his throat and his goatee cut in half.
"That scratch around the throat is extremely disturbing," Keyes said. "It is evidence of using that sharp-edged motion that could only be interpreted as as an attempt to cut [the victim's] throat."
Although the wound turned out to be superficial, "this could have turned out in an entirely different way," Keyes said.
She also described the attack as unprovoked, apparently unleashed in response to the victim chuckling at Nicholls because he forgot his wallet at a nearby fast food restaurant.
Nicholls had been visiting the victim at his apartment because of a shared interest in pet snakes and reptiles and the two had smoked some marijuana prior to the attack, which occurred just as the victim was picking up his car keys to give Nicholls a ride back to the restaurant.
During the trial, the victim described the weapon as a knife with a three-inch blade. Nicholls relented after the victim started asking him why he was doing this. The building manager described the victim as bleeding profusely and with a panicked look in his eyes when he appeared at his door.
Defence lawyer Jon Duncan said it was not a planned act but rather highly impulsive and agreed it was committed for "minor reasons at best" but noted Nicholls was badly bullied while growing up in the United States due to his aboriginal background.
Nicholls has also abstained from drugs and alcohol for several months now and is now gainfully employed and in a serious, long-term relationship, said Duncan, who suggested a three-year suspended sentence with a condition that he attend councilling.
However, if B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Savage does decide on a prison term, Duncan urged a full two years so Nicholls can be sent to a federal facility where the opportunities to receive counselling are greater.
Following the verdict, Nicholls continued to deny he committed the attack which prevented the psychiatrist from determining the motivation for the act. But on Monday, Nicholls took responsibility and issued a tearful apology when given a chance to make a statement to the court.
Savage will issue his sentencing decision today.
