SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A paramedic from B.C. has been convicted of two counts of assault after a wild brawl at Harley's Hard Rock Saloon last June that left three bar staff hurt.

Judge Christine Gagnon found Robert Sutton, 57, of Duncan B.C. guilty in territorial court on Thursday of attacking two female employees at the bar on June 10, 2016. Sutton was in town at the time to take part in the annual Mine Rescue Competition.

He listened to the judge's decision over the phone but will have to return to Yellowknife for the sentencing hearing. The verdict followed a trial in April that heard from the two victims as well as the bar's veteran doorman and an RCMP officer.

Sutton was accused of punching waitress Sara Murphy, who purchased the bar since the attack, as well as punching and kneeing bartender Trista Nault after he was thrown out of the establishment. They both testified at trial that Sutton became agitated after Nault cut him off and then told him he would have to leave after Sutton used a derogatory term when referring to an Inuit person he had met at the bar.

Staff members testified that veteran doorman Daniel Graham and Sutton began trading punches inside the bar before several male patrons stepped in to help eject Sutton. Graham said he broke his hand in several places while punching Sutton in the head but testified the punches were warranted because Sutton was putting up a fight and would not leave willingly.

Nault testified she went up the stairs after Sutton was ejected to look for Graham's glasses which had been knocked off during the fight. She said Sutton then came back into the bar, punching and kneeing her in the face just inside the front door. Murphy said she was punched by Sutton on the street after the attack on Nault. Murphy, Graham and Nault were treated for their injuries at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Sutton testified he never attacked Nault and claimed self defence in his encounter with Murphy. He testified he was fearful for his life at the time.

Sutton claimed several men inside the bar, also in town for the mine rescue competition, were trying to help him when they escorted him out. He admitted, however, to later biting one of the men on the leg as they held him down on the sidewalk.

Gagnon rejected Sutton's testimony as "inconsistent, contradictory, unreliable, improbable and unbelievable," saying his recollection of events that night were clouded by the amount of alcohol he had consumed in combination with a prescription drug he was taking for anxiety.

"He consumed two glasses of wine over dinner at Bullock's, two to three pints of beer, one scotch and part of a second scotch at the Black Knight and a beer at Harley's," Gagnon said as she read from her lengthy written decision. "He admitted he had what he called a six-beer buzz."

The judge added she took into consideration points made by Sutton's Yellowknife lawyer Caroline Wawzonek, who noted at trial that there were no independent witnesses who testified and that video of the altercation inside the bar was not preserved nor presented as evidence. Gagnon ruled those issues were not material to her decision.

Outside court after the verdict, Crown prosecutor Jay Potter would not say what he will be calling for in terms of punishment including whether he will be seeking jail time for Sutton.

"We're going to have to review the decision and then consider all the circumstances," Potter said. "You'll hear our position when we convey it to the court."

Sutton could face as much as six months in jail for each count.

Murphy said she was satisfied with the judge's verdict.

"The ironic thing is that Mr. Sutton was here for the mine safety competition which promotes workplace safety, then he assaulted two women while they were working," Murphy said. "Courts move slowly - this happened almost a year ago - but I in the end, I believe justice was served. It was worth the wait."

Both sides are back in court June 6 to set a date for sentencing.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.