A breach of probation charge has been laid against a man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter where a Vancouver man was attacked with no provocation.
Jeff Arnie Lincoln of Terrace pleaded guilty to manslaughter in December 2022 for the August 2021 death of Gilles Hebert, 60, in Grandview Park.
He had earlier pleaded not guilty and elected trial by judge alone but changed his plea.
Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Mark Jette sentenced the 41-year-old to 27 months in prison after he punched Hebert in the head in the East Vancouver park.
With credit for time served awaiting sentencing, Lincoln had six months left to serve when he was sentenced on Aug. 30, 2023.
He was also put on probation.
However, Lincoln was allegedly in Burnaby on Jan. 12. Court documents sworn Jan. 30 allege he failed to report to his probation officer as Jette had ordered.
Lincoln was granted bail on the charge March 11. His next appearance is April 10.
The assault
It was Aug. 5, 2021 when officers responded to Grandview Park on Commercial Drive for reports of an assault in progress.
An unknown person assaulted Hebert, leaving him unconscious.
Crown prosecutor Jenny Dyck said Hebert fell straight backward with no attempt to break his fall. He died in hospital later that day.
Defence lawyer Glen Orris said Aug. 28 Lincoln had been told that a man in the park had been aggressive toward an older woman and exposed himself in the park.
Orris said Lincoln’s partner believed Hebert was that man.
“Whether she identified the right person or not, we don’t know,” Orris said.
Dyck countered on Aug. 29, saying, “We can’t have people going out and attacking someone because they think they know something about them.”
Dyck said Lincoln turned his back and walked away, leaving Hebert on the ground.
She said Lincoln’s attack on a man years older than him was, “deeply unfair and cowardly.”
Homicide investigators identified a suspect and spent months gathering evidence before making the arrest.
Gilles Hebert
An obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press described Hebert as a gentle soul and a pillar of his community.
He was a volunteer at Britannia Community Centre and was known as a craftsman who loved sculpting stone and wood and did carpentry work.
A victim impact statement from Hebert’s partner, David Parent, called Hebert’s death “a senseless and random act of violence.”
Of his loss, he said, “to say my life will never be the same is an understatement.”
“Gilles was in the wrong place at the wrong time and for that my life is forever changed.”
The court heard Lincoln has a criminal record involving convictions for assaults, mischief and drug offences.
