Skip to content

Nick Berto case goes to jury this week

Self defence? Or angry young man?
2016-05-08 Janes Walk DMH-14
FILE PHOTO: Sault Ste. Marie Court House. Donna Hopper/SooToday

On Wednesday of this week, Justice Annalisa Rasaiah will give final instructions to a nine-man, three woman jury about law relevant to the case of Nicholas Berto.

After that, the jury will leave the courtroom to decide the innocence or guilt of Berto, 20, accused of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle rendering Paul VanderGriendt quadriplegic and failing to stop afterward to offer assistance.

A key issue to be decided is whether Berto acted in self defence when he ran over VanderGriendt shortly after closing time on Saturday, Mar. 12, 2016 outside The Harp Bar and Grill.

"He acted out of natural instinct to preserve himself, out of fear," Berto's lawyer Bruce Willson, argued on Friday.

Berto was afraid he was about to be pulled from his jacked-up pickup truck by an angry crowd of 15 or 20 people that was yelling, screaming and kicking at his truck," Willson said.

So he decided to leave Pine Plaza as quickly as he could, failing to look in front of his vehicle or to the right as he made a sudden right turn, leaving VanderGriendt motionless on the pavement.

"This is not an unreasonable response... given the circumstances," Willson told the jury.

"He did it out of fear... he's worried about someone punching through the window or something."

Assistant Crown Attorney Wesley Beatty from Parry Sound perceived a different motive.

"Mr. Berto's actions are the story of an angry person," Beatty said. "He went looking for a fight outside the bar and he found it."

Berto backed up his truck, angling to point it at the closing-time crowd, an action Beatty interpreted as a calculated decision, not something decided on the spur of the moment.

"He picked the only route that takes him toward the crowd," Beatty said.

The most dangerous weapon possessed by the crowd was a woman's purse.

Berto tried to frighten the group, using first the shard of a broken beer bottle, then his GMC Sierra pickup truck. "He's the one creating the threatening behaviour," Beatty said.

If Berto felt threatened, it was "a threat that he alone created, if a threat at all."

"A reasonable, prudent driver would have troubled himself to look forward and to the right."

A reasonable driver would have applied the brakes if he felt his tires running over someone, Beatty told the court.

Bruce Willson cautioned the jury against giving greater credibility to the well-educated, well-spoken airline pilots and flight instructors who made up much of the crowd outside The Harp.

Berto, on the other hand, attended high school for only a few weeks.

He was taken out of class and home-schooled.

"He didn't go to high school," Willson said. "This is not normal."

Berto wasn't taken out of class for religious reasons or because he was a bad kid.

"He has learning issues," Willson said.

Both Crown and defence lawyers told the jury that this case must not be decided on sympathy.

But Willson pointed out that the Crown's very first action was to show the jury a photograph of Paul VanderGriendt in a wheelchair.

This, Willson told the jury, was "clearly intended to evoke sympathy."

"When the Crown starts playing on sympathy, that's an indication that they have a weak case," he said.

To convict Berto of the two charges, the jury must decide his guilt has been established beyond reasonable doubt.

NOTE: SooToday does not allow comments on court stories.


What's next?


If you would like to apply to become a Verified reader Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.



David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
Read more