Global Courant
A Calgary police officer has turned his own son in after recognizing photos of the suspect in a machete attack on a CTrain platform, a judge was told today.
Connor Dery, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, violating a parole order and taking a motor vehicle without permission in the 2021 incident.
Prosecutor Shivani Naidu-Barrett asked for a two-year prison sentence followed by two years’ probation. Defense attorney Adriano Iovinelli proposed a prison sentence of 19 months – equivalent to the time Dery has already served – plus three years of probation.
Judge Brian Stevenson will rule on a sentence next month.
On October 15, 2021, Dery drew a machete on a man on a CTrain platform in what was described as an “unprovoked” attack.
The victim suffered two injuries, a 6-inch cut to his forearm to the bone and a two-inch laceration to his lower back.
Dad helps detectives
Photos of the suspect were released and Dery’s father recognized his son. He also confirmed to police that the machete and unique shoes, spotted on CCTV footage of the suspect, had disappeared from Dery’s apartment after the attack.
Dery was granted bail, but several months after being released, he took his mother’s car and had an accident near Cochrane.
Justice Stevenson learned that Dery suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child and has been placed under guardianship. The injury impairs Dery’s judgment, Iovinelli argued.
Stevenson was told that Dery was the victim of two serious robberies that resulted in him carrying both a machete and a PTSD diagnosis.
‘Very weak excuse’
But when the judge told lawyers he needed time to consider the proposed sentences, Stevenson expressed concern that Dery was carrying a “lethal weapon” with “the very flimsy excuse that it’s for self-defense.”
“If people are carrying guns, they have to have a reason, a valid reason and it’s up to them to explain why they’re carrying guns in public,” Stevenson said.
Dery’s mother and aunt were in court for the apparition. Iovinelli told the judge that his client’s father was on duty and could not be in court for the plea, but also explained that he did not want to draw undue attention to the situation because of his connection to the police.
When asked if he wanted to address the court, Dery issued a tearful statement. He said he has been sober for almost a year and regrets his actions. He told the judge that he will “never be in this courtroom or any courtroom again.”
“What I did is wrong,” Dery said. “I deserve the consequences.”
On October 15, 2021, there were three random attacks in downtown Calgary. Dery was only charged in the CTrain machete attack.
