By Troy Gillard

Victim lost part of ear

Red Deer man convicted in remand centre assault loses appeal

Jan 25, 2021 | 11:57 AM

A Red Deer man who was declared a dangerous offender last year has lost his appeal of a conviction for an assault at the Red Deer Remand Centre where the victim had part of his ear chewed off.

Chad Alexander Kulba was convicted of aggravated assault for the August 2017 attack that resulted in him receiving a three-year prison sentence last June.

The decision document from the Court of Appeal of Alberta indicates the victim in the August 2017 attack suffered significant injuries, including blood loss, bruising, and the loss of part of his ear.

It was noted that during trial the victim testified to having no recollection of the assault and provided no evidence on the identity of his assailant.

In his appeal heard Jan. 14 in Calgary, Kulba argued that the trial judge erred in interpreting and applying the law regarding eyewitness identification evidence, thereby rendering an unreasonable verdict.

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The Crown’s main witness at the 2018 trial was a corrections officer at the Red Deer Remand Centre who testified she had a “clear and unobstructed view of the entire assault,” and “knew immediately” who was involved, identifying both the perpetrator and the complainant by name. The officer did not, however, provide a physical description of either person.

The appeal court judges noted that neither the Crown nor defence called the officer’s testimony into question during the course of the trial. The judges also said it “defies logic and common sense” for someone “very familiar” with the parties involved to also be required to provide physical descriptions of them.

Kulba also argued in his appeal that the trial judge erred in relying on his failure to testify as a “make-weight” to resolve issues of identification.

However, the appeal judges noted, “The lack of defence evidence was not used to bolster or strengthen the credibility or reliability of any piece of the Crown’s case. There is nothing in the trial judge’s reasons to suggest that he relied on Kulba’s failure to testify to reverse the burden of proof.”

Kulba was convicted of manslaughter in November 2017 for the death of Thomas Braconnier who was stabbed more than 30 times at an apartment building in downtown Red Deer on Christmas Day 2015.