Resolution in Sciog’s case being discussed: lawyer

The fate of one of two men accused in an alleged gaybashing outside Tinseltown remains unclear after his fifth appearance in court March 1.

Dustin James Sciog of Fort St John is charged with three counts of assault.

On Feb 15, lawyer Michael Mines told the court that he and prosecutor Grant Wong were discussing the possibility of an early resolution in Sciog’s case.

While the case was adjourned until March 16, the docket posted outside the Downtown Community Court courtroom said Sciog’s appearance was for “intention to enter a guilty plea.”

“The Crown and I are having discussions. I don’t know how they [court registry] got that,” Mines told Xtra outside court. “It’s not appropriate to get into details.”

Mines says because there are two accused and a number of witnesses, “the matter’s not completely straightforward. We’re trying to hone in on the details.”

The other accused in the case, Michael Anton Hostland of Port Moody, faces one count of assault and is due in court March 22.

The charges stem from an incident in which Thomas Pope alleges he was repeatedly called a “faggot” and punched near the corner of Abbott and Pender streets last October. Pope was waiting for two friends outside the Tinseltown McDonald’s when he alleges that one of the accused grabbed him by his shirt pocket, ripped the buttons off and started punching him in the face while calling him a faggot. Pope also alleges that the man then punched one of Pope’s friends in the face.

The Tinseltown case is not the only alleged gaybashing case currently in the courts. Parminder Singh Peter Bassi is charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm and Ravinder Robbie Bassi is charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm in connection with the June 12 assault on David Holtzman and Peter Regier.

They have pleaded not guilty and the case goes to trial for an estimated five days starting Nov 7.

Meanwhile, Alexandre Tchernychev and Aaron Alexander Hahn are both charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with a July 1 attack on Davie St. Vancouver police were investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, and a prosecutor has already said hate may have been a motivation in that case.

The case had also been set for resolution without a trial at the Downtown Community Court on Oct 25 but that changed when not-guilty pleas were entered.

With those pleas, the case now moves to Vancouver Provincial Court at 222 Main St, where a trial will be held June 23 and 24.