Bail granted to Quebec man charged in Walmart altercation with security guard

MONTREAL — A Quebec man involved in an alleged assault that left a security guard seriously injured and that police initially described as a kind of COVID-19 road rage has been granted bail.

The Crown didn’t oppose Nacime Kouddar’s release today, which came after his arraignment on four counts Monday: criminal negligence causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and failure to stop after an accident.

The release, with several conditions, came as a differing account emerged of what happened outside a Walmart store in Sherbrooke, Que., on Saturday afternoon.

Sherbrooke police said on the weekend that the incident occurred after a man grew frustrated when he was told only one person per vehicle was allowed inside the store because of social distancing measures.

Police alleged Philippe Jean, 35, was struck by a car driven by Kouddar and dragged on the hood of the vehicle for several metres.

Defence lawyer Kim Dingman says the defence has obtained surveillance video from the parking lot, not yet filed in court, which offers a very different version of what happened.

She would not disclose the details of what is shown on the video, which is expected to be used at an eventual trial.

The French-language Sherbrooke daily La Tribune reported that it allegedly shows the security guard chasing down and jumping on the hood of the accused’s car and banging on the windshield.

Jean remains hospitalized with serious head injuries. An online fundraiser was halted Tuesday as word of the conflicting version of events emerged.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 8, 2020.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2020