Vigilante changes plea, admits to assault, unlawful confinement

What was supposed to be a trial date Monday turned into an admission of guilt by a New Brunswick man facing a handful of charges stemming from what's been framed as an act of vigilante justice earlier this year.

Billy McGillicuddy of St. Croixwas scheduled tostand trial on charges that includeassault with a weapon and possession of a weapon stemming from incidents that took place on June 4 in McAdam, about75 kilometres southwest of Fredericton.

Instead, TJ Burke, McGillicuddy's defence lawyer, informedFredericton provincialcourt Judge Cameron Gunn that his client decided toadmit to the charges.

Gunnasked McGillicuddy if he understood that by doing so he would forfeit his right to a trial.

McGillicuddy, who has been in custody since his arrest and appeared in court wearing plain clothes, said he did.

The charges include two summary offencesof possession of a weapon, a baseball bat, for the purpose of committing an offence, and ofassaulting Blake Scott with abaseball bat.

The other two charges wereindictable offences ofassaulting Scott with a chair andunlawfully confining him.

A statement of facts was not shared in court Monday, as Crown prosecutor Darlene Blundston was feeling unwell.

Instead, it will be shared along with a victim impact statement on Nov. 14, when the sentence is delivered.

Speaking to CBC News later, Burke saidtwo other indictable charges,of possession of a sawed-offshotgun for the purpose of committing an offence, and pointing the sawed-off shotgun, had been reserved.

He said he was workingto have those two charges eventually withdrawn.

McGillicuddywas denied bail after hisarrest in June.

He'd originally elected to be tried in Court of King's Bench on four of the charges but changed his election to a trial by judge alone in provincial court in order for it to be heard sooner.

Vigilante justice

About a dozen family members and supporters of McGillicuddy sat in court for the proceedings on Monday.

His first appearance in June drew a turnout of about 50 people, including McAdam Mayor Ken Stannix, who at the time said people in his village were getting frustrated with a rise inproperty crime.

"The criminals are getting away with everything," he said.

"I wanted to support the individuals who allegedly took the law into their own hands."

Those concerns led the RCMP to hold a town hall meeting in the village to let residents air their grievancesabout crime and how police could improve their response.

Stannixsaid in August that the meeting resulted in the RCMP starting night patrols in the village.