One of two Calgary brothers who assaulted a bus driver in what the Crown described as a “senseless, harmful and appalling” attack was handed a four-year sentence on Friday.
Amarjit Grewal was 67 years old when he was attacked by the two brothers in May 2025.
Earlier this year, Curtis Baker Spence, 21, pleaded guilty to robbery and breaching a release condition.
His brother, 23-year-old Darryl Flett, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and a breach. He will be sentenced in August.
A sentencing hearing for Baker Spence took place Friday with prosecutor Greg Piper arguing for a four-and-a-half-year sentence and defence lawyer Gunntas Sidhu asking the judge to consider a three-and-a-half-year term.
(Mike Symington/CBC)
Victim still off work
Court heard that Baker Spence and Flett attacked Grewal on his bus in the early morning hours of May 14, 2025, while at a stop in the city’s northeast.
A video of the assault was played in court as part of Baker Spence’s sentencing hearing.
He beat Grewal with a baton while Flett used a sharp-edged weapon.
Grewal used his hands and arms to shield his face and head from the attack, suffering lasting injuries to his hand. He remains unable to work since the incident.
Court heard that Baker Spence had been released from jail after serving time for crimes of violence just two weeks before his attack on Grewal.
A ‘horrific record’
Piper described Baker Spence as having a “horrific record for violence.”
“It is a miracle, frankly, that the injuries were not worse than they were or even fatal,” said Piper.
(Meghan Grant/CBC)
In his submissions, Sidhu described his client as experiencing an unstable childhood marked by violence, addiction and incarceration.
While not an excuse for committing the violence, Sidhu says it does help explain how his client ended up here.
Baker Spence moved from foster care to jail to homeless shelters and back to jail.
“He cannot identify a place where he felt safe as a child,” said Sidhu.
“Few people would have emerged unscathed from childhood like his.”
In the end, Justice Frederick Fisher split the difference, ordering a four-year prison term. With credit for the time he’s spent pending Friday’s hearing, Baker Spence has 28 months left behind bars.