SASKATOON – A former Hells Angel found guilty of threatening to kill his one-time boss has been sentenced to one year of probation and fined $2,500.
A Saskatoon Queen’s Bench judge also ordered Jesse Leigh Bitz to pay a $750 victim surcharge.
Bitz, who is 42, was convicted last week of threatening to kill Leonard Banga during a heated confrontation at a sporting goods store in June 2013.
Bitz was also found guilty of threatening to cause Banga bodily harm in December 2012.
That was after Bitz was fired by Xtreme Mining and Demolition owned by Banga.
Justice Neil Gabrielson said that while the threats were serious, there was no evidence to suggest Bitz had intentions to follow through.
“Jail time was not necessary in this case,” he said Friday as he brought down his sentence.
Bitz’s probation conditions include having no contact with Banga, his wife or any member of their family. He must also report to a probation officer.
The Crown had asked for a conditional sentence to be served in the community, but Bitz’s lawyer Morris Bodnar argued that would have been too harsh.
Bodnar suggested the judge decided on probation because Bitz had no criminal record.
“If he had a long record, that would be a different question, but he has virtually nothing,” Bodnar said outside court.
During the trial, Banga testified that he had confronted Bitz about concerns the business owner had been hearing from other employees, including that Bitz had been sleeping on the job.
Bodnar suggested Banga fabricated the death threats because he was angry that Bitz quit his company and was applying for a job elsewhere.
Crown prosecutor Jennifer Claxton-Viczko told court that it was implausible that Bitz was such an “important employee” that Banga made up the death threats to get back at him for leaving his company.
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