An Alberta man sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for an attack in McBride on a gay blind man has won a partial victory from the B.C. Court of Appeal.
The court agreed that Michael Allan Richter should have received one-and-a-half times credit for each day he spent in custody prior to sentencing rather than one-to-one credit.
As a result, he was granted credit of 657 days, up from the 438 days he was originally given in February 2013, and the remainder of his term from the day he was sentenced was reduced to 20 months and 13 days from 27 months.
During submissions on the appeal, Crown prosecution conceded that Richter should have received one-and-a-half times credit but maintained the total sentence was fit.
Richter was issued the term for a Dec. 2011 attack that left William Floris Groeneveld, then 56, close to death and with long-lasting injuries. The court had found that Richter, then 31 years old, had hit Groenveld at least three times in response to a sexual advance.
Richter, who was in Valemount on a snowmobiling trip, had been giving Groeneveld home after night of drinking but stranded his SUV in the snow. The two got out of the vehicle and Richter, who had also consumed a rail of cocaine earlier that night, took Groeneveld by the arm because he required a white cane to guide himself around. But suddenly, Richter, who had no recollection of the events, pulled away and began acting in a bizarre manner.
Groeneveld testified he then put his arms around Richter to calm him down but, in the process, thought Richter was coming onto him and tried to reciprocate.
The attack was believed to have occurred sometime after 2 a.m. and Groeneveld was found in a snow bank on First Avenue at about 4 a.m. by a resident who went outside because her dogs were barking and heard someone calling for help. It was about -10 C at the time.
According to a victim impact statement, Groeneveld said he suffered 34 facial fractures on the right side of his head, including a compressed skull fracture that had to be pulled away from his brain, and two cracks on his left cheek bone.
A Mountie found Richter sleeping in his SUV. When he was woken up, Richter bolted with the officer in pursuit. However, he doubled back to his vehicle and, with the help of a volunteer firefighter, he was subdued.
