A man convicted of beating a White Rock businessman with a pipe wrench has been sentenced to more than three years in jail for the crime.
Darryl Gordon Brown was sentenced Friday (Feb. 6) in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, 5½ years after the brutal assault on Fred Edrissi.
Edrissi and his wife, Sabine, received news of the three-year, 27-day penalty shortly after it was imposed.
"I think we can put this case to rest now," Sabine told Peace Arch News by email that afternoon. "After five years, we are… glad that this has come to an end.
"It is good to know that he won't be around for a while."
Brown was convicted in November 2013 of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, in connection with the Aug. 1, 2009 incident. It occurred in South Surrey, on property in the 16500-block of 32 Avenue.
During trial, the court heard that Brown's attack landed Edrissi in hospital with broken bones and lacerations.
Judge Robert Crawford heard from Brown, Edrissi, Brown’s former wife and other witnesses, before dismissing Brown's claim that he had acted in self-defence.
"It is apparent that there was a beating of several minutes, eventually reducing Mr. Edrissi to crawling underneath the tenant's motor vehicle," Crawford said in finding Brown guilty of the two counts in November 2013.
Edrissi had testified that Brown – a mechanic who had agreed to do some work on Edrissi’s minivan – had attacked him from behind with a hammer and a pipe wrench as Edrissi attempted to fix a grinder that Brown was having trouble with. Brown demanded Edrissi’s money, then “wouldn’t stop” the attack, the businessman told the court.
Brown, however, claimed Edrissi had swung at him first, striking him with a grinder and a pipe wrench, but that he couldn’t remember anything after “seeing stars” and wrestling with Edrissi on the ground. Brown said he ‘came to’ kilometres away, covered in blood and vomit.
Sabine Edrissi said Friday that she and her husband have been "moved and impressed" by the support they have received over the years from the Victim Safety Unit, which also kept them in the loop regarding the proceedings and how to ensure they would continue to receive notifications regarding Brown's status in the federal system.
"We never felt alone or in the dark," she said.