A MAN who appeared in court today to hear the judge's decision about his assault charges against a businessman fled during a break.
Clive Evans, charged with assault causing bodily harm and assault, was in court this morning to hear Judge Calvin Struyk's decision and to hear sentencing submissions from prosecutor Rita Kis and his defence attorney Ken Anderson.
Struyk found Evans guilty of assault causing bodily harm against Rob Morris, manager of Safeway.
Morris was kicked in one knee, resulting in him being off work for more than a year.
Morris underwent surgery twice and went through an extensive period of rehabilitation.
The assault occurred while Evans was trying to flee after being stopped by another Safeway employee for shoplifting items from the store on Aug. 4, 2009.
Evans was acquitted on a charge of assaulting a lady who he had knocked down during the incident.
During a break from the proceedings, Evans was seen heading down the stairs at the courthouse to go outside,.
He didn't return when court was called back into session.
Evans left a coat and tote bag in the courtroom.
Struyk issued a warrant for Evans' arrest at approximately 12:45 p.m. today.
On March 10, 2010 Evans was sentenced on a charge of theft under $5,000 for the items he took from Safeway and was granted time served for the time he spent in jail up until that point and given a one-year probation order with conditions.