Joshua Berner found guilty of 2009 stabbing

VANCOUVER – Reports say Joshua Berner has been found guilty of second degree murder for a 2009 stabbing in Richmond. His mother, Carol, was convicted earlier this year for a drunk driving accident that killed a four-year-old.

Defence and Crown wrapped up their arguments Thursday.

Benjamin Warland, 23, was found dead in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2009 in the yard of a home near Cambie and Dallyn roads.

He had several lacerations, but it was a deep penetrating stab wound to his temple that killed Warland, who was the father of a young boy.

Berner, 26, and his friend, Christian Olegario, testified that Warland started a fight with them around 11:20 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2009.

The three young men, who did not know each other, rode the same bus together. When they got off on Cambie Road, Berner and Olegario claim that Warland came up behind them and, while they were stopped at a crosswalk, sucker-punched Olegario, knocking him unconscious.

Berner testified that he turned to see Warland armed with a knife. The two men fought and Berner eventually got the upper hand, ending up on top of Warland, having wrestled the knife away from him.

He testified that he "punched" Warland twice in the head with the knife in his hand.

Berner sustained a serious knife wound to his inner left thigh.

"Mr. Berner did what he had to do," Berner’s lawyer, David Tarnow, said. "He was saving himself and his friend."

Neighbours hearing the commotion called 911. A neighbour who heard a commotion testified to seeing a young Asian man (Olegaria) lying in the street and a young white man (presumably Berner) nearby.

Police, having received a call about two young men fighting, arrived within minutes and spoke to Olegario and Berner then let them go.

RCMP did not realize there was a third person involved — Warland — who lay dying in a swale in the front yard of a house on Cambie. Berner and Olegario did not tell police about Warland — actions the Crown found questionable, and which Tarnow conceded was "stupid."

The knife that killed Warland was never recovered. Berner claimed he dropped it at the scene, and Tarnow said anything might have happened to it as the crime scene was unsecure for up to an hour and a half.

"It’s more likely that he threw it somewhere or hid it somewhere," Crown prosecutor Brian MacFarlane argued.

The court heard testimony from Warland’s ex-girlfriend that he had a collection of knives, and when asked if he carried a knife, Tarnow said "the answer was: ‘pretty much all of the time.’"

Tarnow called 11 witnesses, several of whom testified — some of them reluctantly — to Warland’s explosive temper. "He had a high propensity for violence," he said.

MacFarlane downplayed that propensity, saying that, at worst, Warland was obnoxious.

"He got into fights," he said. "He could be belligerent. He could be obnoxious."

An ex-girlfriend, however, testified to having been beaten up by Warland, resulting in a black eye, swollen lip and bruises to the face.

Though Warland had several charges against him, they were minor, and unlike Berner, he never served jail time.

Berner served two jail terms, and testified that it was in jail where he learned to fight aggressively to protect himself.

It’s unclear what provoked the fight. Berner and Olegario claim there had been no beef with Warland, who simply attacked them without provocation — a claim MacFarlane dismissed.