A Crown prosecutor has asked a judge to send a North Vancouver man to jail for three to five years for almost killing an acquaintance by stabbing him and puncturing his lung during a robbery that went wrong.
Judge Carol Baird Ellan found John Ryane Busby, 30, guilty June 30 of stabbing Abbid Jaffer during a botched attempt to steal cash from him on Jan. 21, 2010.
In asking for the jail term, Crown prosecutor Kristin Bryson said it was only a series of coincidences that kept Jaffer alive. After he was stabbed, Jaffer ran to a nearby restaurant where there was a plainclothes police officer who had just returned from a tour as a medic in the Middle East.
The officer sprang into action and performed crucial first aid to seal the punctured lung.
An ambulance also happened to be in the area and got to Jaffer in under a minute, rushing him to emergency surgery at Lions Gate Hospital.
On the day of the attempted robbery, Jaffer had spoken with another friend, Alim Vellani, and arranged to go to the casino with him.
What Jaffer didn't know was that earlier that day, Vellani had demanded Busby pay him rent for staying with him. But Busby didn't have the money. While drinking heavily, the two hatched a plan to rob Jaffer and split the cash.
Jaffer said when he got to the meeting place in his apartment carport, he found Busby there, who pulled out a knife, demanding he hand over money. Jaffer said at first he thought it was a joke. That's when Busby punched him. The two men struggled, and Jaffer felt what he described as a "ping" in his side. It was only when he reached down and felt something wet, and saw blood on his hand that he realized he'd been stabbed.
In his testimony, Busby told the judge he was only carrying the knife out of habit and that he'd only used the weapon to defend himself.
But the judge didn't believe him.
Because the crime involves "serious personal injury," conditional sentences served under house arrest or in the community are no longer allowed.
But Busby's lawyer, Nancy Adams, asked the judge to consider handing her client a suspended sentence and probation instead.
Adams said there would be a better chance of Busby being rehabilitated at the Vision Quest recovery house where he's been living than in jail.
Baird Ellan reserved her decision.
