Accused found guilty of taking part in violent robbery

A Brandon man who took part in a two-on-one robbery, throwing a knife repeatedly at the victim, was found guilty of all charges on Thursday.

King’s Bench Justice Elliot Leven found Evan Dickhout guilty of robbery, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and assault with a weapon. He stayed the weapon-possession charge to avoid multiple convictions that arose from a single criminal matter.

Leven provided a summary of the facts in a written decision.

Graeson Wasicuna testified that he was in the business of re-selling designer shoes and met up with an acquaintance who had bought an item from him before on an evening in July 2023.

Wasicuna and the man, the now deceased co-accused who went by the name of Casper, walked around together for some time before ending up outside of an apartment building, Leven wrote. Dickhout, who Wasicuna said went by Kodak, was on one of the balconies.

“A few words were exchanged. The complainant got the impression that Kodak and Casper wanted to attack him,” Leven wrote.

Wasicuna said at one point, Dickhout came down, and he and Casper confronted Wasicuna.

“Kodak and Casper punched and kicked the complainant. He fell down and they kicked him while he was down. They had brass knuckles, and they used them to punch the complainant,” the judge wrote.

Wasicuna testified that the punches felt heavy and he “saw stars.”

Casper pulled out Wasicuna’s earrings, and Dickhout had a knife, which he threw at Wasicuna three times, Leven wrote.

The two men left with Wasicuna’s earrings and bag of shoes, the decision read.

“The complainant identified the accused in the courtroom. He said he was 100 per cent certain that the accused was one of the men who assaulted and robbed him,” Leven wrote.

A witness, who saw the incident while sitting on her balcony, testified that she saw two men punch and kick another man, which prompted her to call 911.

She said she saw the two men pull the other man’s bag away and that they walked away smiling. She said she didn’t see any of the men in the courtroom.

The responding Brandon Police Service officer also took the stand.

“She arrived at the scene quickly. The complainant waved her down. He had blood on his face. There were cuts on his face and hands,” Leven wrote.

The officer testified that Wasicuna told her he was attacked by “Kodak” and “Casper” and that she found a set of black brass knuckles on the ground near Wasicuna.

She took photos of his injuries and drove him to the hospital, she testified.

The Crown said during closing arguments that the complainant was generally credible and reliable, and just because he was “sassy” during his testimony, it shouldn’t diminish his credibility, Leven wrote.

The Crown argued that even if Dickhout wasn’t the one to physically take Wasicuna’s bag and earrings, he would still be guilty of robbery since he was a party to the offence.

Defence counsel admitted that if everything Wasicuna said was accurate, “the elements of the charged offences would have been established,” Leven wrote.

He said defence also observed that Wasicuna was combative at times while on the stand.

“This case turns almost entirely on the credibility of the complainant,” Leven said, adding that a video provided to the court was “too unclear to assist the Crown in proving guilt” since the faces were not visible.

Leven said Wasicuna was “not a perfect witness” and mixed up some trivial details, but he accepted that he was significantly affected by his injuries.

“I found that the complainant’s demeanour supported his credibility. He was not very articulate and not very good at keeping calm on cross-examination, but he looked and sounded genuinely sincere about the crucial facts supporting the charges,” he wrote.

He said Wasicuna’s imperfect memory about trivial details was “not fatal to the Crown’s case.”

Leven said at a minimum, Dickhout was a party to the offence.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com