A man who shot another man in the face has been acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of attempting to unlawfully commit bodily harm.
After getting in a fight with Harpreet Sandhu following a petty dispute, Russell Bidesi shot Sandhu in a Richmond McDonald's restaurant parking lot on Nov. 20, 2011.
Bidesi, who admitted he lived a criminal lifestyle and was involved in selling drugs, claimed he had only pointed the gun at Sandhu because he wanted to intimidate him and that the firearm discharged accidentally. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Fisher concluded Bidesi, 26, intended to shoot Sandhu but did not intend to kill him.
But the judge found Bidesi, who in May was convicted of manslaughter in another shooting and in August faces trial in a murder case involving a third shooting, was guilty of the lesser offence of attempting to unlawfully cause bodily harm.
The shooting happened a after night of drinking at the Holiday Inn on Cambie Road. Bidesi was with a group of friends and Sandhu was with a group of his own friends.
When the two groups left the party, they crossed the street and were waiting on the McDonald's patio.
Relations between the two groups were initially cordial but Bidesi got into an argument with Sandhu and slammed him against a glass window of the restaurant. Others broke up the fight after which a friend of Bidesi appeared with a gun in his hand. Sandhu backed away and then a cab arrived.
Sandhu went to the cab and Bidesi ran at the vehicle carrying his friend's gun. There was some argument about who was going to take the cab and Bidesi pointed the gun at Sandhu and the firearm discharged, with a bullet striking Sandhu in the chin.
Bidesi and his friends fled the scene and Bidesi disposed of the firearm. Sandhu survived.
Fisher said there was no question that Bidesi's actions were "extremely dangerous" but said they must be considered in the context of all that happened, including the extremely short time frame.
"He was careless, impulsive, lacking in inhibition due to his consumption of alcohol during the evening. And it is just as reasonable to draw an inference that he only intended to cause bodily harm."
Bidesi is to be sentenced July 31.
In May, Bidesi was convicted of manslaughter in the February 2012 fatal shooting of Kacey Rogers, 31, of Surrey. Court heard that Bidesi was the architect of the home invasion that led to Rogers being killed by a shotgun blast through a window of the home.
Bidesi is also scheduled to go to trial Aug. 17 in the murder of Bradley McPherson, 28, who was shot to death at a Christmas Eve house party in Surrey in 2011.
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