The accused was charged with assault following an altercation at a hot dog stand at approximately 2:00 a.m.
The Crown alleged that the accused initiated the incident by mocking the complainant's voice in a homophobic manner, then punched the complainant in the face at the hot dog stand, chased him into a nearby laneway, knocked him down, and continued striking him until bystanders intervened.
The accused claimed the incident was mutual banter that escalated when the complainant pushed him down, and that he punched the complainant once in self-defence before becoming involved in a general scrum.
The court found the accused guilty, accepting the credible evidence of an independent witness and rejecting the accused's account as incredible and materially contradicted by reliable evidence.
