Grand Forks man found not guilty in hockey arena assault trial

A judge has found a Grand Forks, B.C., man not guilty of aggravated assault following a chaotic clash over an air horn during a junior hockey playoff game last spring.

Grand Forks, B.C., man found not guilty in hockey arena assault trial Judge ruled Glenn Holbrook acted in self-defence during physical dispute over an air horn. A provincial court judge has found a Grand Forks, B.C., man not guilty of aggravated assault following a chaotic clash over an air horn during a junior hockey playoff game last spring. Judge Robert Brown acquitted 58-year-old Glenn Holbrook, finding that his testimony about the confrontation with another fan at the Beaver Valley Arena last March had a "ring of truth" about it.

During the criminal trial at the Rossland courthouse, Crown argued Holbrook grabbed 48-year-old Kevin Doherty and threw him down the concrete stairs of the arena. The incident happened shortly after a series-deciding playoff game between the victorious Grand Forks Border Bruins and the Beaver Valley Nighthawks at the arena in Fruitvale, located about 165 kilometres southeast of Kelowna, as the crow flies. Doherty, who suffered dislocated knees and broken bones, testified during the trial he took offense to Holbrook's persistent use of a loud air horn in the arena.

After the final buzzer ended the game, Doherty approached Holbrook to tell him to stop sounding the horn, he said. "I hardly got the words out of my mouth and I was flipped over," Doherty testified. "He grabbed me with both hands [and] threw me like a rag doll."

Holbrook offered the court a different narrative, testifying he acted in self-defence when Doherty threatened him. Holbrook said he turned and lifted his arms up, thinking Doherty was about to punch him. Both he and Doherty lost their balance during the scuffle and fell together down the stairs, Holbrook testified.

"It happened extremely fast. I don’t know if I slipped or he pushed but it happened instantly," he told the court. In delivering his verdict on Wednesday, Brown said it was reasonably possible the events unfolded as described by Holbrook.