Man facing five years for axe assault

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This article was published 23/06/2023 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 50-year-old man could be looking at half a decade behind bars for attacking his wheelchair-assisted friend with an axe.

Darian Page appeared in a Brandon courtroom Thursday to deal with this aggravated assault charge, stemming from an incident that took place on Nov. 16, 2020.

On that day, Page got into a fight with Brandon resident Keith Kreutzer, who was hosting Page at his home at a particularly low period in his life.

As detailed by Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup, Page was transient and heavily involved in street drug use, which forced him to rely on friends for housing.

Page was prone to belligerent and aggressive behaviour because of these ongoing addiction issues, which was on full display when Kreutzer allegedly struck him during an argument, causing Page to retaliate with a prolonged assault.

“The attack, as a whole, was not brief or minor,” Lonstrup said in court Thursday. “Mr. Kreutzer had dents in his scalp. He had hemorrhaging in his brain. He had a fractured nasal bone and jaw bone. And a fracture in his spine not attributable to his older injuries. “

In his anger, Page also struck Kreutzer in the leg with an axe, leaving a major wound at his tibia, according to Lonstrup.

While Kreutzer survived this assault, he later died from smoke inhalation after his residence caught fire the very same day.

Lonstrup made it clear in court that Page is not being charged with murdering Kreutzer, since there was no strong evidence to suggest that he or anyone else lit the place on fire.

“There was insufficient evidence of arson, and it was entirely possible it was an accident,” he said.

“There was no use of accelerants or anything that would suggest it had to be somebody trying to burn it down.”

However, the Crown attorney maintains that Page’s assault of Kreutzer is still aggravating by itself given his status as a disabled person who had been using a wheelchair since he survived a serious car accident in 1998.

“We know he was in no position to fend off an attack from anyone, not someone using their bare hands and especially not someone chopping into his left leg with an axe,” Lonstrup said.

Because of these aggravating factors, which include a recent history of assaultive behaviour outside of the incident with Kreutzer, Lonstrup recommended that Page be sentenced to five years in prison.

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison implored Judge Scott Abel to hand his client a lighter sentence, given his negligible criminal record before 2020 and significant demonstration of remorse in the years since the assault on Kreutzer took place.

Not only did Page confess and enter a guilty plea shortly after being arrested by police, but his conscience has remained heavy ever since, despite all the progress he has made in dealing with his drug addiction at Headingley Correctional Centre.

“And this horrible feeling … it’s not going to be over after this case is over,” Harrison said.

“He’s got to live with what he did with his friend, and that’s not something he’s going to forget. He thinks about it when he wakes up. He thinks about it when he goes to bed.”

Page appeared in court in person and repeated his remorseful feelings to Abel at the end of Thursday’s proceedings.

In terms of sentencing, Abel is scheduled to reach a decision in Page’s case on July 6.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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