The temporary blocking of a one-way traffic lane near Tapworks in Gibsons on June 2, 2023, led to a dispute between two drivers that ended in a physical altercation. As a result, on Nov. 6 in provincial court in Sechelt, Kenneth Nathan Bland pled guilty to assault and was handed a $200 fine and a two-year probation order by Judge Lyndsay Smith.
Crown counsel Tim McKelvey outlined to the court that Bland had stopped his vehicle in the lane to run an errand inside the Tapworks premises. Another driver in a convertible found his passage blocked and engaged in a verbal exchange with Bland that became heated. Bland approached the convertible and made contact with its driver’s hat with his hand. That action dislodged the hat and the driver’s glasses which caused scratches to that individual’s face.
The second driver reported the incident to police, according to McKelvey, and closed circuit surveillance video from the site was obtained and confirmed how the incident unfolded. On June 6, 2023, Bland turned himself into police and was charged.
The Crown and defence made a joint submission to the court on recommended sentencing. Judge Smith noted Bland did not have a previous criminal record for violence and that his entering of a guilty plea and expression of remorse for his actions were mitigating factors in his sentencing. She provided him with up to three months to pay the fine and did not impose a victim surcharge.
Bland’s probation order includes a no contact order relating to the victim of the assault.
