Warning: This story contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
An aggravated assault charge has been laid in the alleged violent, bloody beating of an Osoyoos, B.C., man near the Sage Pub in December 2019.
Michael Jordan Shalagan-Morsette, born in 1997, made a brief appearance at the Penticton law courts on Wednesday to face the charge.
The file was put over to Feb. 26 when the accused will elect his mode of trial.
Video surveillance captured the aftermath of the brutal assault on Kyle Bourdon.
The 31-year-old can be seen staggering into the establishment, heavily bleeding and asking for help.
Police and paramedics arrived minutes later.
According to police, the incident involved Bourdon getting hit in the head with a wine bottle.
A family member said Bourdon was in hospital for six days and required 30 staples to his head, and that he was lucky he wasn’t killed.
Bourdon is from Kingston, Ont., and was living with his uncle in Osoyoos before recently finding a place of his own.
In a press release issued on Dec. 24, Osoyoos RCMP said Bourdon had been socializing at a pub with three other men and a women, but left the establishment alone.
Shortly after leaving, he was assaulted, with one suspect being identified as a 22-year-old man from Peachland.
“We are confident this was an isolated incident between the parties and there is no threat to the public,” RCMP Sgt Jason Bayda said in that press release at the time.
In an interview with Global News, Sage Pub owner Allan Redekopp said Bourdon had been in the pub earlier that night.
“When Kyle stumbled back to the pub, a lady screamed from the pool tables when they saw him through the glass,” said Redekopp.
“He was not wearing a shirt … visibly injured, blood covering everything. It looked like he was wearing a mask, to be honest, when he walked through the front door.”
Redekopp said once they realized what had happened, staff applied pressure to his wounds while also calling for help.
“I’ve never seen more blood in my lifetime,” said Redekopp, adding he was proud of his staff’s actions. “I’ve seen a lot of fights, I’ve seen car accidents, I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve never seen anything worse than what happened.
“Nobody ever deserves what happened to that young man, in any way shape or form.”
Redekopp added “in all honesty, had he not made it here … he was stripped of clothing, he was stumbling, it was a very cold night out and he certainly lost a lot of blood.
“Thank god he made it here, because who knows where we’d be having this conversation right now.”