Sheaves Cove man accused of assault goes to court

The trial for a Sheaves Cove man accused of committing an assault on a neighbour last summer got underway at Stephenville Provincial Court last Wednesday.

Robert Rowe has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, issuing threats, and resisting arrest after an incident in which Shelley Jesso, also a resident of Sheaves Cove, alleges Mr. Rowe pulled up along side her in his pickup one evening while she was out for a jog, got out of his truck and then beat her.

In his video-recorded statement played at the start of his trial, Mr. Rowe, who plead not guilty to the charges, admitted he struck Ms. Jesso twice in the face that evening, but said it was only after she hit him twice in the face first - breaking his glasses and causing injury.

In his statement, Mr. Rowe explained to investigating officer Const. Carolyn Shaffner, he was remorseful of his actions but there was a history of issues between his family and hers that stemmed from an ongoing land dispute.

Mr. Rowe told Const. Shaffner that on the evening of the assault, his wife was walking up the road to visit an uncle when Ms. Jesso verbally assaulted her from across the street and challenged his wife to a fight. He said this scared his wife, who does not know Ms. Jesso personally.

He said he sought out Ms. Jesso that evening only to tell her to leave his wife alone.

It was after he delivered this message to Ms. Jesso that Mr. Rowe said she hit him twice in the face with a closed fist - breaking his glasses into several pieces and causing visible injury. He said he retaliated by hitting Ms. Jesso twice and that she fell face first onto rocks on the shoulder of the road after the second strike.

"I lost it. I just got pissed off. I didn't go to her to cause a disturbance," Mr. Rowe said in the videotaped statement. "I wanted to tell her to leave my wife alone ... she's the one that swung at me. My intention was not to go there to have a big uproar with her. I know she's a female but I know what this person is like, too. What she's capable of."

Mr. Rowe was visably upset in the video statement as he reiterated to Const. Shaffner that he was not happy about what he did and that he had not done anything to the family in question up until the day of the alleged assault.

In her testimony, Const. Shaffner said she was familiar with Mr. Rowe prior to taking his statement.

She clarified that in her previous dealings with Mr. Rowe, he had been the victim. There were two incidents of property damage to Mr. Rowe's boat that preceded the assault. These included profane graffiti and damage to the boat's motor. She also noted Mr. Rowe's barn was burned down the day after his alleged assault on Ms. Jesso. Ms. Jesso has never been charged with any of these offenses.

Mr. Rowe's attorney, Fred Stagg, asked the constable why Ms. Jesso had not been charged with assault on that August evening. The constable had previously confirmed to the court that she did see cuts and marks on his face when she took his statement on Aug. 27.

Const. Shaffner was not the arresting officer in the case, but said that an investigation carried out would have provided sufficient evidence to charge one of the parties, and that a supervisor reviewed the case before charges were laid against Mr. Rowe. She did say, however, that it wasn't unusual for two parties involved in an assault to both be charged.

Const. Shaffner concluded her testimony on day two. Following her testimony the crown called several other constables to give testimony, including Const. Ryan Meko, the officer who attended Ms. Jesso at the hospital on Aug. 25 and photographed her injuries; Const. David Cooke who took photos of Ms. Jesso the day after the alleged assault; Const. Jennifer Churchill, who photographed Mr. Rowe's eyeglasses on Aug. 27; Const. Renee Perchard, arresting officer on Aug. 25, Const. Jonathan Penney, who provided accompaniment to Const. Perchard in Sheaves Cove on Aug. 25; and Auxiliary Constable Michael Daughtery, who was on ride along with Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy on Aug. 25 and also attended Mr. Rowe's arrest.

Each officer confirmed Mr. Rowe resisted arrest on the evening of the 25th, but Mr. Stagg suggested this was because his client had called RCMP to his home to report the incident and ended up being the lone party to be arrested in the incident.

Reading from the arrest report, Mr. Stagg said it did not appear RCMP softly persuaded Mr. Rowe to accompany them, and that it sounded as if force was immediately used.

Asked why she arrested Mr. Rowe that evening and not also Ms. Jesso, Const. Perchard said her decision was based on the description of Ms. Jesso's injuries provided to her by Const. Meko.

"I gathered the evidence I had and as far as I know Robert Rowe should have been charged with assault and not Shelley Jesso," said Const. Perchard, who added she knew she made the right call.

When the trial resumes tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. testimonies will be heard from Robert Rowe and Shelley Jesso as to what occurred between them in Sheaves Cove on Aug. 25 of last year.

reporter@thegeorgian.ca