A man “very well known” to Langley police and court houses across B.C. has been sentenced to 18 months jail time for the vicious bat attack of a 19-year-old Langley man outside the Artful Dodger in September 2011.
Wade Corey Bryant, 33, entered a surprise guilty plea April 3 in Provincial Court in Surrey.
Along with jail time, he was given three years probation after his release and a 20 year firearm ban.
He already has a lifetime firearm ban from a previous conviction of robbery in 2005 in Langley. In fact, Bryant’s record is a mile long, with convictions of uttering threats in 2010 and 2004, as well as convictions of robbery, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a prohibited weapon along with dozens of breaches, including in this case as well. All these crimes took place in Langley.
On Sept. 11, 2011, around 1 a.m. the Langley RCMP were called to the Artful Dodger Pub, said Cpl. Holly Marks at the time.
Investigation revealed that a 19-year-old victim was in a truck with two friends, getting ready to leave, when Bryant began hitting the truck with a bat.
The victim got out of the truck and was hit in the head with the bat. The man with the bat fled in another vehicle.
When police arrived, the victim was awake, but incoherent, Marks said. He was taken to hospital in critical condition.
Police arrested Bryant three days after the attack charging him with assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, and mischief over $5,000.
The victim and his friends didn’t know Bryant, said police. They were at the pub to shoot pool.
The victim was hit in the head with a bat which caused a brain injury. When he was rushed to hospital he was put in a drug induced coma.
The victim had to learn how to talk, eat and walk again.