A 21-year-old woman has been sentenced for her part in a swarming attack at a Burnaby park three years ago that saw a 17-year-old girl knocked to the ground, stomped on the head and robbed of her Jordan sneakers.
Bella Yahia was found guilty in January of one count of assault causing bodily harm.
The charge relates to an incident at Avondale Park near Burnaby Hospital in the early morning hours of June 26, 2020, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling by Justice Bruce Elwood.
Swarming attack
Yahia, who was 18 years old at the time, had been with a group of other teens “hanging out, drinking and wandering about” until five girls and two boys found their way to the park at about 2 a.m., the ruling said.
At the park, one of the girls took the victim’s phone.
“When (the victim) approached the girl who had taken her phone, that person pulled a knife and issued a veiled threat to (the victim),” the ruling said. “(The victim) began running and the group ran after her. Following a brief chase, a group of four girls grabbed (the victim) by her clothing, hit her, pulled her hair, and forced her to the ground. Once she was on the ground, the group kicked (the victim), smashed her face into the pavement and stomped on her head. One of the girls cut (the victim) with a knife. Another one sat on her and threatened her that the beating would not stop until she gave up her shoes.”
Neither of the two boys participated in the attack, according to the ruling, and one said “Stop, that’s enough.”
After the girls let the victim go, she ran barefoot to the nearest house for help.
She was taken to hospital and needed six or seven stitches to close a gash on her head, according to the ruling.
She also suffered scratches, abrasions and bruises on her face, neck, arms, legs and hand, as well as superficial knife wounds to her neck, wrist and side.
'Cowardly'
Charges of robbery and assault causing bodily harm were first approved against Yahia in May 2021.
A person under the age of 18 was also charged, according to Burnaby RCMP.
At trial, evidence against Yahia came down to her testimony against the victim’s, according to Elwood.
Yahia testified she had been separated from the other girls before the chase started and wasn’t there when the victim was assaulted.
But Elwood rejected Yahia's evidence, saying it was “neither reliable nor credible.”
He ruled there was enough evidence to prove Yahia was a “co-principal” in the attack – one of the four girls who hit the victim, grabbed her hair and forced her to the ground – but not enough to prove Yahia had continued to participate after the attack became a robbery.
“What Ms. Yahia did participate in was an unprovoked, violent and cowardly swarming attack on a defenceless young woman who thought she was her friend,” Elwood said.
He handed Yahia a three-month conditional sentence, including 45 days of house arrest, and one year of probation.
During her sentence and probation, Yahia is banned from contacting the victim and another person named in the ruling.
She is also prohibited from possessing knives and weapons and consuming drugs or alcohol.
Discharge rejected
Defence lawyer Bobby Movassaghi had asked for a conditional discharge, meaning Yahia would not have had a criminal record if she successfully completed a period of probation.
But Ellwood rejected that idea.
“A conditional discharge would not be in the public interest in this case. It would not send the appropriate message to the community or to Ms. Yahia herself,” Ellwood said.
He pointed to an earlier court ruling that said swarming cases “require a strong denunciatory message” even if the individual offender’s participation was limited.
“Those who choose to participate in gang-like violence cannot expect to have their culpability determined without regard to the totality of the harm inflicted. Each is accountable for the collective action,” stated the appeals court ruling.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
Email [email protected]
