The case of a man convicted of aggravated assault following a pair of incidents at an Inverness Co. First Nations community is scheduled to return to return to court Monday.
Police say officers responded to multiple 911 calls of a man being chased by two other men on Portage Rd. in We’koqma’q in Aug. 2019; that was followed by more 911 calls reporting a hit-and-run on Hwy. 105 in the area, which was related to the first incident.
They say the victim was taken to Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
RCMP say they arrested two men and a woman at a home in the community.
Joshua Lindsay Paul, 28, and Robert Lindsay Paul, 36, both from Eskasoni, originally faced counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and obstruction, with Joshua Paul also facing multiple breach charges; they made their first appearance in the case the day after their arrests.
A preliminary inquiry, which determines if there is enough evidence to send their cases to trial, was scheduled for Wagmatcook Provincial Court in Feb. 2020.
The Crown withdrew their attempted murder charges; the men eventually waived their rights to the hearing later in the day, and were committed to stand trial.
Their trial took place in June, with a verdict delivered in Port Hawkesbury Provincial Court in July; both men were found guilty of aggravated assault and not guilty of obstruction, while the assault with a weapon count was stayed.
Joshua Paul is expected for a sentencing hearing in Wagmatcook after it was adjourned in May.
Robert Paul was sentenced to two years and eight months in federal prison in July; with credit for time already served, he was left with 16 months remaining in his sentence.
He also received three years of probation, a lifetime ban on restricted weapons, and a 10-year prohibition on other firearms, with the exception for hunting for sustenance.
Jenilee Kaitlyn Francis, 20, of Eskasoni faced the same charges; she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, and had her remaining charges withdrawn in July.
She received a three-month conditional sentence and 12 months of probation at her sentencing hearing in October.
