Sucker punch gets Penticton man 16 months in jail

PENTICTON – A Penticton man will spend more than a year behind bars for a sucker punch during an unprovoked attack.

Joshua Alexander Mcbride, 33, was sentenced in Penticton court today, March 12, to 16 months in prison for aggravated assault and uttering threats for the Aug.  28, 2016 attack that took place on a downtown Penticton street.

The victim was walking with a group of friends when Mcbride walked up to him and punched him in the face without warning.

Mcbride, who claimed to have no memory of the incident, was high on drugs and had just jumped out a car after he and his girlfriend had an argument. He then returned to the vehicle, where he threatened to kill her if she talked to police about the incident.

The victim suffered eight broken bones to his face, including a break to an orbital bone. He had to have a titanium plate embedded in his face and bone fragments removed from his eye. He now suffers from blurred vision, headaches, is nervous when out in public and has financial difficulties as a result of the attack.

In rendering her decision, Judge Meg Shaw noted Mcbride’s guilty plea, lack of criminal record and difficult childhood, she also noted the unprovoked assault on a complete stranger was one of “considerable violence.”

Crown prosecutor Kurt Froehlch sought a sentence of 18 to 24 months jail, while defence lawyer Robert Maxwell asked the judge for a 12-month jail sentence.

Judge Shaw sentenced Mcbride to a total of 16 months on one count of aggravated assault and an additional 45 days for uttering threats. Mcbride will also be subject to two years of probation and a 10-year firearms ban.

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