The B.C. Prosecution Service has stayed an aggravated assault charge laid in August against a convicted drug smuggler.
Jody Archie York had been charged following an altercation at Monte Lake, which is between Vernon and Kamloops.
At the time, the RCMP said one man was injured when he was struck with a golf club, allegedly by York, before the man’s friend hit York with a machete.
York later said he was attacked first by the machete-wielding man and was only defending himself at the time.
Crown spokesman Dan McLaughlin confirmed to Postmedia this week that the charge was stayed on Nov. 22, but would not provide detailed reasons.
“The decision to stay the charges in this case was made after further information was received by the prosecutor with conduct of the file,” McLaughlin said. “After reviewing this information and the rest of the file materials, the prosecutor concluded the charge approval standard could no longer be met. In these circumstances, a stay of proceedings is the appropriate course of action.”
McLaughlin said that charge assessment guidelines dictate that “charges will only be approved or continued where Crown Counsel is satisfied that the evidence gathered by the investigative agency provides a substantial likelihood of conviction and, if so, that a prosecution is required in the public interest.”
“In this case, the prosecutor concluded the test was no longer met and directed the stay of proceedings,” McLaughlin said.
In 2011, York was sentenced in the U.S. to five years in prison as a leader of a major international drug smuggling ring who prosecutors said worked on behalf of B.C. Hells Angels.
York told a judge at his Seattle sentencing that he had already reformed and had turned away from gang life.