Three men who attacked a black man in a swarming that went viral on YouTube have been found guilty of assault by a judge who says “the acid fog of racism” permeates the case.
Provincial Court Judge Peter Doherty said Thursday that one of the men who pummelled Jay Phillips, 39, yelled a racial slur when he was confronted in Courtenay, B.C., last July.
“The three young white men, fuelled by alcohol and testerone and their own immaturity, crossed paths with a black man and lives changed forever,” Mr. Doherty said.
Mr. Doherty concluded that David White, 19, called Phillips “nigger” as he sat in the back of a truck leaving a restaurant while his co-accused, Robert William Roger and Adam David Huber, both 25, sat in a cab as they passed Mr. Phillips standing in a nearby parking lot.
The trial heard Mr. Huber believed Mr. Phillips was a drug dealer in the Vancouver Island town.
“In the end it does not matter one way or the other to the issue at hand except to note that Mr. Huber, when confronting Mr. Phillips, thought he was high on something,” Mr. Doherty said. “I think he was just in a rage.”
Court has heard that after Mr. White yelled the racial slur, Mr. Phillips threw an item, possibly a water bottle, at the truck, prompting Mr. Huber to ask Mr. Phillips if he'd tossed something at the vehicle.
“Mr. Huber, unable to walk a mile in the shoes of Mr. Phillips, let alone stand in them for one moment, repeated the question several times,” Mr. Doherty said.
Mr. Phillips was not in court to hear the verdict after having testified in the trial for two days.
“Jay chose to stay away from this,” his mother, Kirsten Phillips, said outside court. “He did not want to be a part of it.”
During the trial last month, Mr. Roger's lawyer, Doug Marion, said Mr. Phillips had a hunched stance and appeared to consent to the fight by saying, “Come on,” when the trio got out of the truck.
But Bob Richardson, Mr. Phillips's lawyer, said his client was only trying to protect himself because he was outnumbered by the men.
A date for sentencing the three men will be set on Aug. 12.
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