No bail for man accused of punching girlfriend

A 25-year-old man accused of repeatedly striking his girlfriend in the face with a closed fist was denied bail on Thursday.

Trieghton Huntinghawk, who is charged with assault, appeared in provincial court by video from the Brandon Correctional Centre.

Crown attorney Easton Lacey said Brandon police were called to the south parking lot at the Keystone Centre at 7:30 p.m. on July 20 for a report of an assault.

Police saw a woman, 20, with a swollen eye and minor bruising on her cheek and took statements from two witnesses.

“They saw the male push her down in front of the Keystone Centre behind some bushes on the east side of the walking path on 18th Street,” Lacey said, adding that the assailant sat on the victim’s chest and punched her three to five times.

The witnesses said they had left Applebee’s and were driving down 18th Street when they saw a man chasing a woman. The witnesses ran after the suspect to try to stop the assault and then called 911, she said.

The suspect fled on foot before police arrived.

The victim told police at the scene that her boyfriend began arguing with her after they finished shopping at Dollarama, Lacey said. The woman said he had been pushing her around and the argument escalated when they got to the Keystone Centre, the Crown said.

Two hours after the alleged incident, police found Huntinghawk on 24th Street and arrested him.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson said Huntinghawk is a father of two children ages five and seven. He was apprehended by Child and Family Services before age one and was placed in about 27 different foster homes throughout his childhood, Dawson said.

He said his client also acknowledges that he struggles with alcohol and drug use.

The defence suggested Huntinghawk would promise to appear in court for any future dates and could offer $200 cash for bail — a large sum of money for someone who is experiencing homelessness, he said.

“The fact that he could get this money back if he behaves himself on his order, doesn’t get into any further trouble, doesn’t cause any sort of breaches — that should provide quite a substantial motivator for someone in his position to stick to his conditions,” Dawson said.

He also suggested Huntinghawk could have conditions not to contact the victim or witnesses, abstain from consuming alcohol and drugs, and seek addictions services.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta noted the accused has struggled to follow bail conditions in the past, stay in contact with a probation officer and attend court.

“He has nowhere to live, which I accept is not his fault, but it presents a challenge in terms of putting a curfew in place, for example, where police could be checking on him regularly,” she said.

Hewitt-Michta said his addiction is a risk factor for possibly reoffending.

“It’s unmanaged at this point in time. Putting him on an abstention condition, even expecting him to follow up with addiction supports would, I think, be tantamount to setting him up for failure and would create a risk to the safety and security of the public,” she said.

She denied Huntinghawk bail and said he was prohibited from contacting the victim.

His next court date is Aug. 18.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com