A rather 'benign' road rage incident which led to the vicious attack of one man has resulted in the jailing of another.
In a decision released June 28, Justice Angela McLeod of the Ontario Court of Justice wrote that the interaction between the two began when both drivers changed lanes in front of the other with both expressing their frustration.
Christopher Scaglione followed the other driver to an industrial area where he loaded garbage in a dumpster. Business security footage captured Scaglione approaching the other driver - there was no sound on the footage.
The cameras showed a verbal exchange and then Scaglione struck the other driver in the face with his fist.
While the other driver was on the ground, Scaglione continued punching until the other man was unconscious. He then kicked the downed man in the face three times, leaving him there, according to the judge’s review of the case. Others happened upon the victim and called for help.
Five of the attacked man’s teeth were broken, he had a broken arm requiring surgery, a large cut to his upper lip area and a welt on his forehead.
A series of surveillance cameras captured Scaglione driving from the scene back to his tattoo business in downtown Barrie.
Scaglione, 33, was charged with aggravated assault in the Jan. 10, 2020 attack but pleaded guilty earlier this year to assault causing bodily harm and breaching his release order.
“The assault was unprovoked, violent and disproportionate to the anger that might arise from a benign driving incident,” the judge wrote in her decision.
A month later, the victim swore an affidavit indicating he was ready and willing to fight when approached in the parking lot and had grossly underestimated Scaglione’s ability.
He wrote that he wasn’t seeking criminal or civil action and hoped that both could just walk away “with an understanding that we should not resort to fighting to resolve our differences.”
Despite assertions by the defence, the judge found that Scaglione was not provoked and that he was the instigator. She also determined it wasn’t a consensual fight.
Court heard that Scaglione, a former gang member and the son of a retired police officer, had previous convictions for assaults and has served prison time. He is involved in a class action related to time he spent in solitary confinement and court heard he may be dealing with undiagnosed PTSD.
The judge gave him credit for pleading guilty but said his record would come into play in the sentence. He was sentenced to 27 months on the assault causing bodily harm charge and another three months for the charge of breaching a release order. Minus 229 days credit for pre-trial custody, he was handed a sentence of 671 days or 22 months.
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