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A Vancouver man who barged his way inside a North Vancouver rooming house and beat another man with a baseball bat has been handed a sentence of one day in jail plus one year’s credit for time he’s already spent in custody.
Mark James Andrew Baker, 41, was handed the sentence Wednesday by Judge Joseph Galati in North Vancouver provincial court after pleading guilty to a charge of assault causing bodily harm.
The assault at the rooming house in the 400 block of East 11th Street in North Vancouver happened a year ago, on Jan. 29, 2022.
Crown counsel Jason Krupa said on that day Baker knocked on the door and when someone answered, Baker and another man pushed past him into the house. Once inside, they went to the victim’s room and proceeded to beat him for about 30 seconds “including with a baseball bat,” said Krupa.
Baker was heard by other people in the rooming house saying he was looking for another person named “Mike,” said Krupa – although that wasn’t the name of the man he attacked.
Afterwards, Baker stole a bicycle from outside the house and rode off, Krupa said.
The victim of the assault suffered a bloody nose and injuries to his face and was taken to hospital, said Krupa. Once there, however, he refused to co-operate with police or give a statement, said Krupa.
The attack appears to have been targeted, he added.
Baker’s defence lawyer Leo Fumano agreed. “It was not a stranger assault,” he said. “The witnesses knew him.”
The attack was motivated by a disagreement “over money” he said.
After Baker was arrested the case was set for trial, but none of the witnesses showed up, said Krupa.
Baker’s defence lawyer said his client has been on the streets since he was 13 years old, and wants to be a better role model for his son.
The judge sentenced Baker to the 244 days already served in jail – equivalent to one a one-year sentence – and ordered him to complete two years of probation with conditions not to contact his victim as well as a woman who witnessed the assault.
“I hope that issue is resolved for your sake,” he said.
The rooming house where the assault took place in North Vancouver is the same one that has been the subject of numerous complaints from neighbours about disturbances and illegal activity.
In April of last year, the house was the scene of a drive-by shooting at 3 a.m. when neighbours heard multiple shots being fired.
In May of last year, the City of North Vancouver filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court demanding the property owner stop using the property as a rooming house. The petition filed in court by the city referred to many disturbances at the property, including “assaults, drug related investigations, a sudden death, overdose calls, burning complaints, untidy/unsightly property complaints, parking complaints, zoning complaints and a drive-by shooting.”
