A 52-year-old man admitted in Prince George Provincial Court to making “a stupid mistake” by swinging a hammer to defend himself after a verbal argument turned physical.
“I didn't intend anything to happen,” Matthew James Mcdonald said March 20. “It will never happen again.”
Mcdonald, a railway worker, pleaded guilty to threatening to use a weapon to assault or cause bodily harm. Judge Judith Doulis gave him a suspended sentence, probation for a year and short-term home confinement.
For the first 45 days, he must stay at home between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Court heard that Mcdonald had been confronted at his home by the parents of his stepson’s girlfriend on March 11, 2024. His defence lawyer, Hazem Osso, said he had been hit and pushed continuously, but was able to retreat into his home before any serious injury.
Mcdonald called police to report the incident, but decided not to pursue charges.
When he saw the complainant approach him, yelling angrily, he feared for his safety, took a hammer and swung it.
“Adrenaline got the best of Mcdonald, and he regrets his actions and questions, and he went way too far in what he did,” Osso said.
Doulis agreed to the joint Crown and defence sentencing proposal and accepted Mcdonald’s guilty plea and expression of remorse.
Doulis ordered him to also perform 40 hours of community work service — at least eight hours per month — and he must apologize to the victim in the manner directed by his probation officer by the end of June.
He must also not possess any weapons or ammunition defined in the Criminal Code and must not possess any hammer, except in his residence or for the purpose of employment.
