A trial for a man accused of assaulting a Lone Butte property owner with an ATV has been adjourned for at least a month.
Defense lawyer George Wool asked Judge Michelle Stanford Friday to delay the proceedings as the accused, Alan Gear, is experiencing health issues.
Wool said Gear was taken to the psychiatric hospital in Kamloops, following the publication of his testimony in the Free Press in April, and subsequent comments concerning him on social media.
“He’s not emotionally fit right now to proceed with the trial,” Wool said Friday.
Wool and Crown Counsel Julie Dufour had been scheduled Friday to give their final submissions in the case, in which Gear is charged with assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a conveyance and mischief.
Roy (Tom) Nichol testified that on May 1, 2020, he had allegedly caught Gear trying to cut the wires of a barbed-wire fence on his son’s property on Foothills Road in Lone Butte. Nichol, 57, testified that he confronted Gear, who became belligerent and spat in his face, before hitting him with his ATV and then returning later to smash in the gate with his truck.
Gear testified that he was acting in self-defense, alleging that Nichol punched him in the face and tried to steal his chainsaw. He also said he was cutting the fence wires because he thought the fence had been put up by CN to keep ATVs out.
The trial continuation date has not yet been set.
kelly.sinoski@100milefreepress.net
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