Accused takes the stand at assault trial

A Sheaves Cove man accused of assaulting a neighbour in that community in 2009 took the stand last week in Stephenville Provincial Court.

Robert Rowe is charged with assault causing bodily harm, issuing threats, and resisting arrest after an alleged incident involving neighbour Shelley Jesso on Aug. 25, 2009.

Mr. Rowe recounted a series of events leading up to the evening of the alleged assault. He was asked to do so by his lawyer, Fred Stagg.

Mr. Rowe began by testifying that on the evening of Jan. 28, 2009, a white truck pulled up to his residence. He said he went to the door and saw Ms. Jesso and her partner, Gerard Smith, in the truck and asked what they wanted.

"She starts screaming at me," said Mr. Rowe of Ms. Jesso. "It was mostly vulgar language coming out of her mouth."

He said she accused him of calling child services regarding her daughter, and that Mr. Smith threatened him and his family.

Mr. Rowe said shortly thereafter, his 16-year-old daughter said she received a phone call from a friend who told her Gerard Smith had offered the friend $1,000 to kill Mr. Rowe and $500 to kill Mr. Rowe's son.

Mr. Rowe described other incidents of vandalism to his property; he said he had firewood destroyed, and damage to his boat and related equipment.

Mr. Rowe told the court on the evening of Aug. 25, 2009, his spouse said she was walking to Yves Rowe's to paint. Mr. Rowe said he planned on taking a shower and then driving to Yves Rowe's house to pick up Ms. Barter.

He said while he was in the shower, he heard the phone ring, but didn't answer it. Once out of the shower, he said heard the phone ring again, and upon answering it, he said it was his spouse who told him that Ms. Jesso called her a '"f*** face."

"At that time, your honour, I was pissed off," said Mr. Rowe.

He testified he got in his truck and drove past Ms. Jesso's parent's house, going about 60 km/h, until he reached an area near the end of Sheaves Cove where he saw Ms. Jesso.

"At that point, my intention was not to have a confrontation with her," he said, noting he wanted to tell Ms. Jesso to leave his wife alone.

He said he stopped his truck at least 20 feet away from Ms. Jesso, got out and then approached her.

He said Ms. Jesso struck him twice - the first hit knocking off his glasses and the second grazing his lip area. After that, he said he grabbed her right hand and punched her twice in the face, at which point he said Ms. Jesso fell face first to the ground.

At that point, Mr. Rowe said Ms. Jesso called him a vulgar name - and he walked away without saying anything, picked up his broken glasses, got back into his truck and headed for Yves Rowe's house.

Mr. Rowe said he then spoke with his spouse, talked to an RCMP constable the phone, after which he and Ms. Barter drove home.

An hour later, Mr. Rowe testified, the officer, Cst. Perchard, arrived at the Rowe residence. He said she left, came back with other officers and informed Mr. Rowe he was under arrest.

"I froze in my seat," said Mr. Rowe. "I guess I didn't realize what was happening."

He said he was handcuffed, placed in the police vehicle and taken into custody.

Mr. Rowe told the court he tried to pursue assault charges against Shelley Jesso, but didn't succeed.

He testified the following night a bang was heard and he went to check the garage on his property, and discovered his barn was ablaze. He said the local fire department arrived, but couldn't save the structure. He also said an attempt was later made to burn down a sawmill on his property.

Dispute over land

During his testimony, Mr. Rowe spoke of a property dispute within the community.

He said he owned a piece of property adjacent to an area he called Maggie's Brook, noting a hiking trail was being developed that ran through a portion of the land.

He said he was asked to sign over the land to a local development association, but said he declined, wanting to leave things as they were to let people walk freely over the trail on his property.

Mr. Rowe said there was a property dispute with Amab Jesso, an uncle of Ms. Jesso, which remains ongoing. He said while Ms. Jesso owns property near this piece of disputed land, her property didn't have anything to do with her uncle's land, but said Ms. Jesso and Mr. Smith had pushed the issue.

In his cross examination, Crown Attorney Bill Howse asked Mr. Rowe if he had any concerns over his spouse walking to Yves Rowe's house on the evening of Aug. 25. Mr. Rowe said he didn't.

Mr. Howse asked Mr. Rowe how he felt when his spouse called saying she had been verbally assaulted.

Mr. Rowe testified he and his family went through a lot over the previous eight to ten months and didn't know where it was going end.

"If you're asking if I was angry - yes, I was angry," stated Mr. Rowe.

The crown attorney asked Mr. Rowe why he didn't drive straight to Yves Rowe's house after speaking with his spouse on the phone.

"I wanted to say something to her [Ms. Jesso]," said Mr. Rowe. "I didn't want to have a fist fight with her. I wanted to tell her to leave my wife alone."

Upon meeting Ms. Rowe at the outskirts of Sheaves Cove, Mr. Rowe repeated that Ms. Jesso struck him twice; after which he grabbed her by her shirt and struck her twice with a closed fist - first hitting her nose and then hitting her lip area. He testified he let go of her shirt and she fell to the shoulder of the road. He denied kicking Ms. Jesso in the leg, hitting her on the eye, or touching her neck.

Mr. Rowe said the first hit to Ms. Jesso was done in self-defense.

The crown attorney asked if the second hit was necessary.

"Everything happened so fast, I guess it was a split-second reaction," said Mr. Rowe.

Mr. Howse asked the witness if there were any alternatives to hitting Ms. Jesso.

"Yes, I could have walked away from her," responded Mr. Rowe.

Mr. Howse inquired about Mr. Rowe's arrest later that evening at the Rowe residence. He asked the witness if he was angry about being arrested.

"Yeah, probably a little bit," replied Mr. Rowe.

After Mr. Howse's cross-examination was completed, Mr. Stagg entered into evidence copies of land deeds he said were related to Mr. Rowe's property in Sheaves Cove.

As well, Mr. Stagg said an unresolved issue in the case was how photos taken of Ms. Jesso at the hospital after the alleged altercation ended up on a table in her residence without her knowledge.

Final submissions are set for March 2.