He killed a man with one punch on the streets of downtown Chilliwack two days after Christmas in 2020.
Seven months before that, William Trevor Escott threatened a man with a Taser in a convenience store not far away.
Now the 42-year-old is going on trial for domestic assault.
In late October, two days of trial in March 2023 were set for Escott who is facing one count of uttering threats and one count of assault causing bodily harm from July 23, 2022 in a ‘K’ file, which refers to domestic abuse.
The details of that case have not yet come out in court.
Escott’s criminal issues since 2020 are many. He received no jail time for killing 45-year-old Carlton Leith on Dec. 27, 2020 thanks to a joint 12-month conditional sentence submission agreed to by Crown counsel Aaron Burns.
High on the drug GHB, the 42-year-old Escott, who is much larger than Leith, punched him once. Leith fell back and cracked his skull, an injury that would prove fatal.
“I would like to say sorry to the courts, and to the family for what happened,” Escott told the court after a sentencing hearing on July 19, 2022, adding he is still “horrified” by the memories every night.
Escott was originally charged with manslaughter, but Burns agreed to accept a plea to the lesser included charge of assault causing bodily harm.
READ MORE: Manslaughter charge lowered to assault causing bodily harm for Chilliwack’s William Trevor Escott
Seven months before killing Leith, in May 2020, RCMP officers were called to the 7-Eleven at Yale Road and Williams Street to a report of a man behaving intoxicated. Officers spotted what turned out to be a Taser in Escott’s back pocket, and Escott grabbed an unknown male from behind.
“I’m assuming that male would have been somewhat terrified about the incident,” Judge David Albert told Escott.
“I’ve been in recovery for 14 months,” Escott said. “I did a 180, I’m not going down that road any more.”
While Escott does have convictions on his record for impaired driving and driving while prohibited, the court heard that he did not have a record for violent offences, and the court did not hear about him killing Leith because the case had not yet been resolved in court.
Judge Albert agreed to a joint submission of a suspended sentence and two years of probation, as well as a weapons prohibition.
Escott’s K-file trial runs is scheduled to run March 20 and 21, 2023. He is not in custody on the K file.
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