A man who got into a fight with a smaller and much older man outside North Vancouver's homeless shelter three years ago will not go to jail.
Joseph Papp, 31, was recently handed a one-year conditional sentence order to be served in the community.
Papp was sentenced after being found guilty of assaulting Michael Senick, 60, outside the front doors of North Vancouver's homeless shelter on Dec. 20, 2010.
The fight left Senick with permanent brain damage, after he suffered a heart attack and was without a pulse for between 20 and 30 minutes.
Papp was originally charged with the more serious offence of aggravated assault, but Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon determined Papp's actions were not necessarily responsible for Senick's heart attack, noting Senick had a pre-existing medical condition.
During the trial in B.C. Supreme Court, the judge was told the fight between the two men began verbally, then escalated when Papp lunged toward Senick and was stabbed or poked with a pencil wielded by Senick.
Papp then either punched Senick or threw him to the ground and kicked him. Senick then went into cardiac arrest.
Senick only survived through the life-saving efforts of a North Vancouver RCMP officer, who performed CPR until an ambulance arrived to rush Senick to hospital.
As part of his sentence, Papp must submit a DNA sample and is also banned from owning firearms for 10 years.
