The man charged with attacking two strangers with a machete outside a Vancouver hotel has pleaded guilty and now awaits sentencing.
Kenneth Stephen Solowan, 37, was arrested on Aug. 10 near Chinatown and made his first court appearance Aug. 17. He faced two charges of aggravated assault.
Solowan appeared by video before Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Patricia Stark on Tuesday.
He initially pleaded not guilty in January 2023 but changed his pleas to guilty by December of that year.
The attack happened in front of the Empress Hotel in the Downtown Eastside on June 19, 2022, when two people loading luggage into a taxi were attacked by a stranger.
Both of the victims suffered significant injuries and required hospitalization.
A Vancouver Police Department patrol officer was flagged down but the suspect fled immediately after the attack and investigators could only get a limited description.
Police said evidence, including security footage of a man fleeing the area, as well as tips from the public, helped detectives identify Solowan as a suspect.
April 25 has been set as the date for sentencing submissions.
Solowan was granted bail in August 2022 but allegedly breached his conditions immediately.
He was re-arrested several weeks later in Mission, where someone recognized him from a picture released by Vancouver police and reported the sighting.
Solowan remains in custody.
