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A Spruce Grove man has been sentenced for his role in a bar fight that left another man with serious facial injuries.
Chance Arndt was celebrating his birthday at the Atha-B nightclub with a group of friends on January 27, 2019.
But the festivities turned ugly when tensions rose between Arndt and his friends and the victim.
Prosecutor Aaron Rankin said there had been 鈥渉ostilities鈥� and 鈥渁ggressive indications鈥� between the men that came to a head when Arndt passed the victim and nodded his head as if to ask to go outside to fight.
The court heard the victim grabbed Arndt, who responded by hitting the victim in the head - with a rocks glass in his hand.
The altercation then grew with two other men getting involved in the melee.
Arndt was arrested and the victim was taken to hospital to get his facial wounds stitched up.
Arndt pleaded guilty to assault in court December 12.
Pushing for a 鈥渟hort, sharp jail sentence鈥� of 30 days, Rankin said the Atha-B has been the site of numerous violent incidents.
He said: 鈥淚t is important for people who visit Jasper and engage in violent incidents in bars and pubs to understand that lasting consequences will be dealt with in proportional fashion and it is completely unacceptable.鈥�
Arndt鈥檚 lawyer, Curtis Steeves, said the 26-year-old had drunk 10 to 14 drinks that night and has completely stopped drinking as a result of the incident.
鈥淚t is a meaningful change to address what was happening to him when he consumed alcohol to excess,鈥� said Steeves.
The court heard a statement from the victim, who said he has some permanent facial scarring from the attack and is 鈥渕ore worrisome鈥� when going to busy public places.
Judge Robert Shaigec described the incident as 鈥渁 very serious crime鈥�.
鈥淚t is not the case that there was an assault where there happened to be a glass in his hand, he would know there is a glass in his hand when he struck him in the head - which is a very vulnerable part of the body and risks serious injury,鈥� he said.
鈥淎 fight inside a bar is a potentially very dangerous because a bar generally tends to be a crowded and dark place and can involve people who are to varying degrees drinking, imparied or intoxicated. There is a risk of real mayhem, of real danger.鈥�
The judge recognized that Jasper may have a problem with alcohol-related criminality but said Arndt did not set out to assault the victim, he responded to having been grabbed in an aggressive way.聽
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 justify the actions in this way,鈥� said Shaigec.
鈥淚t was an ill-considered instant in his life.鈥�
The judge took into account Arndt鈥檚 youth, his prior good character, the support of his family, his 鈥減romising future鈥�, and his guilty plea which saved people from testifying.
Arndt was fined $1,500 and sentenced to 50 hours of community service and 18 months鈥� probation.
