Judge finds man guilty in 'heinous' racist road-rage assault
CBC
A judge has found a 79-year-old man from the Moncton area guilty of a road-rage assault that included flicking blood on the victim and a racist remark.
Moncton provincial court Judge Luc Labonté ruled on Monday that Lawrence Scott instigated and twice assaulted Mohammed Benyoussef in Ammon, north of Moncton, on Aug. 29, 2021.
"The accused was clearly the aggressor," Labonté said.
He said a video recording played at trial showed Scott approaching Benyoussef, saying "foreign c--ksucker" and then reaching through an open vehicle window to swipe at the phone recording the incident.
Labonté acknowledged the struggle that followed left Scott injured and bleeding, but he said Scott had no reason to flick blood at Benyoussef.
The judge's decision came on the second day of Scott's trial, which began April 11 but had halted because the judge questioned whether the Crown had proven the location of the crime. The trial continued after the judge ruled it happened in New Brunswick.
Benyoussef testified during the trial that he was driving with his wife and children along the Ammon Road toward Moncton when a truck driven by Scott pulled out onto the road in front of him. Benyoussef testified he passed on a solid yellow line to avoid crashing into the truck.
"I lost my temper," Scott testified about being passed on the road. He indicated he was enraged by the action because someone else had died in the area doing the same thing.
Scott said he then passed Benyoussef's van, and they both stopped in the middle of the road.
The video begins with Scott approaching the van, uttering the racist comment and reaching through the window.
Scott testified Benyoussef grabbed him, pulled on him so that his arm and face were rubbing against the vehicle, and wouldn't let go.
From the witness box, he showed the judge the scarring that remained on his right forearm. Despite the injuries, Scott testified, he didn't seek medical attention.
"I'm not a baby," he said. He said he was less upset about the injuries than about his ripped shirt.
He initially testified that the video only started after the confrontation had already begun.
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