A Crown prosecutor is asking for a three-and-a-half year sentence for an Edmonton man found guilty of aggravated assault in connection with a road rage attack in southeast Edmonton nearly three years ago.
Jared Matthew Eliasson, 31, appeared in court for a sentencing hearing in Edmonton on Wednesday morning.
In April, Eliasson was found guilty of aggravated assault in connection with the March 2017 incident, which saw Chelsey Schendzielorz attacked in what police described as a “vicious road rage” incident.
Schendzielorz suffered two broken arms after she was struck twice with a metal bar as she stood outside her vehicle.
Court documents stated Schendzielorz suffered “significant injuries in the course of the assault” and “required multiple surgeries, including the insertion of metal plates into her arms.”
“I live it every day,” Schendzielorz said in a victim impact statement submitted in court Wednesday. “I have never felt so much pain in my life. In less than 30 seconds, my life was flipped upside down, shaken and tossed a million miles while spinning.
“Have you ever had to be fed like a baby in your young adult years? I had it like this for my time in the hospital. Having to wait for someone to free up to feed you is very frustrating.”
Schendzielorz said her independence was taken away from her, adding the attack has affected her mental and physical health, as well has her relationship.
“I think that people are following me now, I have always a plan of action if someone is,” she wrote. “I still have not processed everything that I have been through in the last two years.
“This is my present, not just my past. It was not so long ago for me. I live with the results of it every day.”
In court on Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Mark van Manen stressed the seriousness of the offence.
“This was not a spur of the moment decision,” he said. “This was not a spontaneous act of violence… He planned what he would do. At no time did he decide to turn around and continue on with his paper route.”
Van Manen went on to say that Eliasson was “motivated by road rage, revenge and opportunity.”
Defence lawyer Zack Elias asked for a sentence of between 18 and 24 months.
“It’s my position that denunciation and deterrence has already been satisfied by the time already served in custody,” Elias said.
“Further jail will derail any rehabilitation steps that he’s taken.”
Elias detailed some of Eliasson’s history, which included growing up in Edmonton. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Alberta for three years, seeking a science degree.
Eliasson then did some travelling and ended up obtaining a diving certificate and worked on underwater pumps.
Court documents show that in 2014, Eliasson was stabbed six times. In court on Wednesday, his lawyer said this was a “case of mistaken identity.”
“This resulted in his withdrawal from most public interactions for the next two years,” Elias explained.
The pre-sentence report stated Eliasson has an “explosive and escalating temper, which appears to be easily triggered.”
“The subject has displayed multiple events of mental instability, requiring police assistance,” read the report.
During the trial, the defence argued someone else attacked Schendzielorz, arguing there was not enough evidence to prove Eliasson was the attacker.
Eliasson has since filed an appeal in the case. In a court document dated Dec. 4, he explained he is appealing his aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and mischief convictions.
The document shows he’s appealing on grounds that the trial judge “erred declining to admit fresh evidence… erred in law by failing to declare a mistrial… erred in using disbelieved evidence as positive evidence of the appellant’s guilt” and that the “verdict was unreasonable.”
He is also seeking bail pending appeal.
A sentencing decision is scheduled to be handed down on Thursday morning.
WATCH BELOW: Ongoing Global News coverage of the road rage attack and Eliasson’s trial
With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News.
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