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Victim's skin colour behind attack
Victim's skin colour behind attack - Crime - Canoe.ca
A woman awaiting a verdict in a violent robbery with racial overtones has pleaded guilty to a separate booze-fueled attack on a shopkeeper because she didn't like his skin colour.
Rachel Gorman pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of assault with a weapon, causing a disturbance by being drunk and breaches stemming from the Oct. 30 2010 incident at a northwest convenience store.
Court heard Gorman became frustrated after failing to reach a taxi by phone and began lobbing merchandise from gum to lighters at Farook Azam, the lone employee in the store at the time.
At one point, court heard, she hit him in the head with her fist.
Found by police with bloodshot eyes and slurred speech a short distance away, Gorman was arrested and court heard she told a police officer she didn't like brown people.
Her lawyer Jim Lutz said it was "happenstance" the target in Gorman's "line of fire" had dark skin.
Lutz, who told court his client has no prior convictions for violence and is seeking probation in the case, said the assault with a weapon charge isn't the best way to describe what happened.
"I'm confident most of this was motivated by alcohol ... this is more of a tantrum than anything else," he said.
The Crown, however, is asking for jail term of nine to 12 months, citing aggravating factors including the racial slurs, vulnerability of the victim who was working alone and the fact that Gorman was in breach of court conditions.
Prosecutor Karuna Ramakrishnan said video showing Gorman with a look of "glee on her face when throwing things" and "eating Doritos" should also be taken into consideration.
"This was an offence motivated by hate," she told court.
"The Crown's position is nothing less than a jail sentence will suffice. "
The lanky and pale-skinned Gorman, wearing a white crucifix around her neck, apologized for the incident but did not look at her victim sitting a few feet away in the courtroom.
"I have nothing against brown people," she said. "I don't know why I said those things."
Judge Sean Dunnigan will sentence Gorman later this month on the matter. But Gorman is also awaiting a verdict to determine if she is guilty of robbery in a Feb. 2, 2010 case where she allegedly kicked cabbie Gurinder Jit Singh in the face, later telling police she disliked his skin colour and saying, "I hate them in my country."
stop the violence against people with brown skin !