Vernon man pleads guilty to attack on bus driver

A Vernon man who assaulted a bus driver when he was told he was not allowed to smoke in a non-smoking area, pleaded guilty today to charges of assault.

Austin Phillips, born 1994, was arrested following the incident in August and charged with two counts of assault and two counts of uttering threats. He pled guilty to both assault charges today, Dec. 2, at the Vernon courthouse.

According to an earlier RCMP media release, the B.C. Transit driver pulled into the downtown transit station in Vernon at 8:45 a.m. Aug. 19 and saw a man sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette. The bench was in the non-smoking area of the transit stop and the driver went to speak to Phillips. Phillips then grabbed the driver and assaulted him, and spat on a woman who tried to intervene.

The bus driver was hospitalized after Phillips' attack with what police said were non-life-threatening injuries.

The judge ordered a pre-sentence report today and Phillips is due to be sentenced sometime in the new year.

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