Alliston, Ont. man accused of weapons charges sentenced for aggravated assault

An Alliston, Ont. man seeking bail next week on weapons charges and multiple breaches of release orders, was sentenced Friday in a Barrie courtroom.

Kody Berdan, 36, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault stemming from an October 2023 beating of a man along Victoria Street in Alliston.

The court heard Berdan threatened the man, punched him in the face, and broke his fingers. Berdan told the man he owed him money and threatened he was going to break the man’s legs.

Berdan, the court heard, threatened the man with violence in a voicemail.

“I will find you. You won’t like what’s coming,” he said.

The victim chose not to come forward. Instead, a third party contacted police after he was hospitalized and required surgery to salvage use of his fingers.

As part of a joint submission from the Crown and his defence lawyer John Raftery, Berdan received a suspended sentence. He was given enhanced credit of six months in pre-sentence custody, followed by probation for a year.

The court heard Berdan struggles with substance abuse, and that problems worsened when he was hit by a half tonne truck a few years ago. He also faces mental health challenges and has difficulty managing anger.

His criminal history, the court said, includes convictions for assaulting a police officer, threats, mischief, assault, and possessing property obtained by crime.

The judge told Berdan by pleading guilty he spared the victim of having to testify in court and relive “the ruthless violence, derogatory slurs and aggressive threats” he committed against the man.

Berdan and his older brother Darryl, who have been behind bars for more than two months, were arrested during what provincial police called a bail compliance investigation in Alliston.

The Berdan brothers were charged with several counts including allegations of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of weapons.

Some of their federal drug charges were dropped by the prosecution last week.

Berdan is also not to communicate with his brother in jail.

In custody on his most recent charges, Kody Berdan is scheduled to return to a bail court on Tuesday. The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.