Warning: Details and images in this article are disturbing and graphic in nature. A Barrie jury has found a 24-year-old Scarborough, Ont. man guilty of attempted murder, forcible confinement, breaking and entering, and assault with a weapon in a vicious Feb. 2022 attack of a man inside his Wasaga Beach home. Kailend Coote was convicted following six hours of deliberations and a full week of witness testimony for the attack that sent a man to hospital in life threatening condition. The Crown said Coote and a taller man dressed in hoods and masks entered the apartment along River Road East at about 10 p.m. on February 2, 2022, when the taller man pointed a gun at the complainant and his roommate. The court heard the taller man put a gun to the complainant’s head, and pulled the trigger, but it failed to fire a shot. The man testified he was then hit repeatedly with a cooking pot then stabbed by a shorter man in the ankles, thigh, shoulder, and neck. The complainant, who is now 47, identified his attacker as Coote, also known as Little D. The complainant said he recognized Coote’s eyes, telling the court “the eyes never lie.” He told the court he was addicted to drugs at the time and admitted to taking Coote’s iPhone after kicking him in the head during a robbery. The Crown said Coote wanted retribution for the robbery. He testified having $1500 in cash, an expensive jacket and sweater stolen from him. A day later the complainant was stabbed in his home and left for dead. The Crown said the attack was payback for the robbery by the complainant and his friends who needed money for drugs. Coote was arrested a year later. His DNA was found on the broken cooking pot as well as a zip tie found in the kitchen. The defence called the complainant’s testimony unreliable, inconsistent, and uncertain, arguing the complainant’s memory may have been impaired, telling the jury there was no logical motive or proven intent. Defence lawyer Jas Wadera characterized the Crown’s theory as a case with gaps, inconsistencies and unanswered questions that raise a reasonable doubt as to his client’s guilt. The Crown said in its closing submissions to the jury Coote wanted revenge and refused to acknowledge he knew the complainant as it would tie him to the violence that Justice Laura Bird said would have resulted in the man’s death had it not been for extraordinary medical intervention and “a whole lot of luck.” Coote, who had been out on bail under house arrest conditions was taken into custody following his conviction. His sentencing is scheduled to begin in June.
