An Edmonton man who beat a woman with an aluminum baseball bat after she broke Into his pickup truck and started a fire, pleaded guilty Sept. 24 to aggravated assault.
Crown prosecutor Anna Novakovic told Judge Peter McDermick in Prince George Provincial Court that a woman confronted Mark Duwayne Haugen at 5:25 a.m. on Feb. 23 at the Canco gas station on George Street “about an issue regarding her friend.” The woman broke the rear passenger side window of Haugen’s black 2018 Dodge Ram 1500 with the bat and threw a canister into the vehicle, starting a small backseat fire.
Haugen took the bat and chased the woman, who fell at Dominion Street and Second Avenue. He struck her 12 times on the head, back and arms “with force,” Novakovic said.
The woman did not fight back, but attempted to cover her head to defend against the strikes.
When police arrived, witnesses pointed to Haugen running on Second Avenue with the bat. An RCMP officer found him placing the bat inside the Ram and arrested him for assault with a weapon at 5:43 a.m.
Officers found the injured woman on the street and called Emergency Health Services, which rushed her to University Hospital of Northern BC for treatment of a broken right elbow and elbow laceration (which required 14 stitches), swollen left temple and a concussion.
While in custody, Haugen was the victim of an assault and sustained a severe brain injury, court heard.
McDermick adjourned the case to Nov. 19 for a pre-sentencing report and psychological risk assessment.
