By Ashley Legassic

Jury hears closing arguments in Kamloops manslaughter trial

Mar 11, 2019 | 2:58 PM

KAMLOOPS — A B.C. Supreme Court jury must decide whether a Kamloops man was acting reasonably when he punched a man three times outside of a North Shore night club on Dec. 30, 2016.

Sean Dunn, 42, died from blunt force trauma to his head, after a night at The Duchess on Tranquille. James David Bond, now 29 years old, is charged with manslaughter in connection to Dunn’s death. The jury has heard that Bond punched Dunn three times across the street from the bar, which eventually led to his death.

The jury heard closing arguments from both sides today, with defence lawyer Don Campbell arguing Bond was pushed past his limit after Dunn had been harassing his girlfriend Sarah Hupe throughout the night.

But Crown argued the potrayal of Dunn as a harasser and “creep” during the trial wasn’t accurate. Prosecutor Frank Caputo argued Dunn was a highly intoxicated man who just wanted to find some friends to continue to party with in the early hours of Dec. 30, 2016.

The jury has seen and heard surveillance footage from inside and outside the bar that night. Footage showed Bond, Hupe and his friend Dustan Pendrak all headed over to the pool tables where they met Dunn for the first time.

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Bond testified during trial that Dunn had approached, bumped into, and poked his pool cue into Hupe during the night, and wouldn’t leave their group alone. He said that when the trio was leaving, Dunn followed them and ended up approaching Hupe while she was urinating outside of an apartment building.

Bond said he told Dunn and Pendrak to give Hupe some space, but when the group continued walking, Dunn allegedly grabbed Hupe’s breasts. That’s when Bond began punching Dunn.

“We say that Mr. Bond was pushed to his limit, pushed beyond his limit,” Campbell said, arguing the defences of using force in the protection of a person and using force to stop an offence.

“Ask yourself,” Campbell told the jury, “at what point is someone entitled to protect their vulnerable spouse?”

Caputo urged the jury to consider whether or not a sexual assault really happened at that time, and if it did, was Bond acting reasonable when he hit Dunn?

“What happened on Wood Street? That is for you as a jury to decide,” Caputo said.

He argued that drugs and alcohol tainted everyone’s perceptions from that evening, but with reviewing the surveillance footage it’s clear Dunn was highly intoxicated, and not sure of what was going on.

“Mr. Dunn appeared oblivious to what was going on with Mr. Bond and Ms. Hupe, and the problems he was causing,” Caputo said.

Caputo said one of the major questions the jury will have to answer is how Dunn ended up on his back. According to Bond’s and Hupe’s evidence, Dunn fell face first after being punched three times. But Pendrak testified that Dunn was on his back with Bond on top of him when he pulled Bond off.

Caputo also argued that Bond and Hupe were not reliable witnesses.

“Was Mr. Dunn acting as creepy and harassing as has been made out to be?” Caputo asked the jury.

He concluded by asking the jury to use their common sense and experience while coming up with a verdict. The jury will receive instructions from the judge Monday afternoon before deliberations begin.