Greg Collins leaves court in Nanaimo on June 25 following his aggravated assault conviction. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)
jail sentence

Enraged tenant jailed for Gabriola Island axe attack

Nov 28, 2024 | 5:24 AM

NANAIMO — A little more than a month after moving onto a Gabriola Island property, a man lashed out by severely injuring his landlord with an axe.

Gregory Francis Collins, 73, was jailed for the next three years following a sentencing hearing in provincial court in Nanaimo on Wednesday, Nov. 27, in relation to the April 3, 2022 attack against the now 85-year-old victim.

Collins was convicted in late June following a trial, in which the sentencing judge categorized Collins’ version of events as “nonsensical”.

The trial heard a dispute arose between the two men involving accusations of nonpayment of rent and power being cut off to Collins’ trailer on the South Rd. property.

Evidence from the complainant and injuries sustained indicated the victim was hit two to three times in the head with the weapon, resulting in serious injuries.

The complainant testified that he was unarmed when Collins mounted him and unleashed the attack with what court was told was a Swedish bush axe.

Using his hand to block further blows from the three to four-foot-long axe, the victim sustained a severe cut in the process, the trial heard.

During sentencing on Wednesday, Nov. 27 Judge Harvey said the attack easily could have resulted in a homicide.

“This type of conduct is completely and utterly unacceptable in our community…This complainant was in a defenceless position on his property.”

Judge Harvey called the attack a brutal, unprovoked assault of a defenceless man 12 years older than Collins, noting the incident included elements of pre-meditation.

The victim was treated for his substantial wounds at the Nanaimo hospital.

Collins will serve his sentence in a federal penitentiary. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Collins contended at trial that it was in fact his landlord who initiated the encounter by kneeing him viciously in the groin and attempting to grab his testicles.

Collins submitted injuries sustained by his landlord were self-inflicted and when asked how the victim received two large cuts on his head, Collins told a Gabriola Island RCMP officer, “I have no idea.”

Judge Harvey rejected Collins’ version of events.

Citing the sentencing range for this type of assault is between 16 months and six years in jail, Crown counsel Neal Bennet argued for a sentence toward the higher end of that range.

“Blows to the head, especially with a weapon, are serious, potentially life-threatening,” Bennet said, who noted Collins demonstrated a lack of remorse and insight into his offending.

While an impact statement was not submitted during sentencing, Bennet said the attack altered the complainant’s life.

“Even the most hardened person, your Honour, would experience pain and trauma from this type of attack,” Bennet told the court.

The offender was sent off Gabriola Island following the incident and has resided in Coombs ever since.

His lawyer, Michael Ritzker, said a three-year prison sentence would be appropriate.

Collins, who has a limited and dated criminal record, was ordered to submit a DNA sample and faces weapons restrictions post-release.

He’ll serve his sentence in a federal penitentiary in the province in a facility to be determined by the Correctional Service of Canada.

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Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes