Gerald Bear is escorted by Deputy Sherriffs to Prince Albert Court of King's Bench. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Sentencings

Machete-wielding robber receives four-year sentence for aggravated assault

Oct 5, 2023 | 2:08 PM

Editor’s note: this story contains graphic material

A 53-year-old man who was punched and kicked repeatedly, bear sprayed, and hit in the head with a machete during a robbery, spent a week in hospital and over a year-and-a-half later is still dealing with the emotional trauma.

That was among the facts heard during Gerald Bear’s sentencing hearing Thursday morning at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert. Guilty pleas were entered to aggravated assault as well as breaching a release order that prohibited him from possessing any knives.

On March 20, 2022, the victim was leaving his residence at Rivercrest Apartments, when he was attacked by two people and robbed of his cell phone in the hallway.

With respect to Bear’s role, he hit the victim in the head with a machete as many as 10 times. The two suspects fled on foot and the victim managed to get to a family member’s house to call for help.

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Crown Prosecutor Brent Slobodian, who described the police photos as graphic and brutal, noted that when officers arrived at the apartment building, there was blood found in the main entrance, as well as in the second-floor lobby area and hallway.

Building residents, who did nothing to intervene, recalled hearing a man’s screams and the potent smell of bear spray.

Already dealing with several underlying health conditions, the victim spent a number of weeks in hospital with injuries to his head and hands. Slobodian also noted the man suffered emotional trauma.

Among the mitigating factors for the joint submission was Bear’s guilty plea and his lawyer Lori Richardson stated he makes no excuses and accepts responsibility for his actions.

Discussing Bear’s personal background, she said following the tragic death of his father when he was very young, Bear and his young siblings were sent to foster care at Cumberland House, where he suffered physical abuse.

Bear’s father had passed away saving a woman who passed out on the train tracks, and he was struck by the train. Bear’s mother suffered from addiction issues and passed away when he was 12, due to complications from Diabetes.

It was also revealed during Thursday’s hearing that Bear, who at the time of the offence was struggling with a heroin addiction, had been diagnosed with HIV. Richardson explained this has been a wake-up for him to take better care of himself and be a better father to his children.

When given the opportunity in court to speak, Bear apologized.

“I just wanna get on with my life, help my kid,” he said.

With credit for time spent in remand, Bear has roughly one year and seven months left to serve at a provincial institution. He’s also prohibited for life from owning or possessing any firearms or explosives.

The teenage boy was sentenced last December and received a 15-month sentence.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell