A man charged in connection with a violent incident in a shopping mall parking lot that was caught on video will return to court on Friday.
Mark Phillips, 36, appeared in a St. Thomas court Monday morning via video from the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre. A publication ban has been put in place that prevents the reporting of what was discussed in court but his next court appearance was set for Friday, Dec. 15.
Phillips is facing one count of aggravated assault and three counts of assault with a weapon.
The confrontation outside of the Elgin Mall last Thursday, caught partly on camera, shows a man getting out of a white BMW brandishing a baseball bat, repeatedly yelling “terrorists” and “ISIS,” while a person off-camera can be heard telling him to “stay away.” A 52-year-old man suffered bruising and a cracked rib.
St. Thomas police say they were called to the scene around 4:30 p.m. Thursday after reports of a man attacking another man with a baseball bat. The suspect had already fled in his car but was arrested in south London that same evening.
When asked if police were investigating the assault as a hate crime, St. Thomas police Sgt. Brian Carnegie previously told 980 CFPL they believe the suspect was racially motivated.
“That’s why we’ve called in the criminal investigation branch, if it borders the hate crime line then they are the ones to deal with those kinds of situations.”