Assault conviction for Rosetown man

EAGLE STAFF

Derek Skene was guilty of assault when he stabbed a local man in the ribs, a judge ruled last week.

Judge Bruce Bauer gave his decision in Kindersley provincial court on Tuesday. Judge Bauer presided over the trial during the Rosetown provincial court session on Sept. 25 and adjourned the matter to Dec. 2 in Kindersley when he’ll see a pre-sentence report on the accused.

Crown prosecutor Tom O’Hara indicated he’d ask for a jail sentence because Skene has a previous criminal record.

Video of an incident in a Rosetown back alley just before 11 p.m. on the night of Dec. 24, 2024 showed Skene’s dog jumping around at the end of its leash while Skene, 49, of Rosetown and another man yelled at each other, the judge noted.

When the stabbing occurred, “the dog leaped forward” at Skene’s left “and, at the same time, Mr. Skene stepped forward and drove his hand into the ribs” of the victim, Judge Bauer said.

Later, the victim realized that the sweatshirt and a T-shirt that he’d received that night as a Christmas gift had holes in them and he’d incurred a small puncture wound that caused “a large number of spots of blood,” the judge said.

Judge Bauer concluded that Skene had intended to strike the victim and that the video showed he was able to control the dog as it leaped around on its leash.

The judge dismissed Skene’s lawyer’s argument that a ring or a fingernail could have caused the wound that punctured two shirts and his skin.