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SYDNEY, N.S. —

He was described as a very good man who committed a very violent act.

The description was offered Monday by prosecutor Peter Harrison, who recommended a jail sentence for a Sydney man who pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and mischief over $5,000.

Gary Trevor Sudds, 45, of Grovesnor Crescent committed the offences on Jan. 1, 2018, and Harrison recommended a jail term of one year followed a two-year probation period. Defence lawyer Tony Mozvik recommended a suspended sentence followed by probation.

Sudds was charged after smashing out two passenger windows in a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox owned by Brent Hughes, and later entering the home of Hughes and assaulted him to the point he suffered cuts and scratches to his face, a concussion, chipped tooth and broken ribs.

“He is likely to deal with those injuries for some time to come,” said Harrison.

The two men were well known to each other. Sudds opened his home to Hughes, who was a member of the coaching staff of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Hughes stayed with the Sudds family prior to securing his own place.

Hughes, who was an assistant coach, is no longer with the team having been let go in April along with head coach Marc Andre Dumont in a decision unrelated to the court case.

Mozvik suggested Monday that his client was motivated by fear in that he viewed Hughes as threat to the security of his family.

In posing as his wife, Sudds sent Hughes a text message in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, asking Hughes for his house number.

After smashing the windows in a vehicle owned by Hughes that was parked in another location, Sudds later arrived at the home and committed the assault.

Harrison said Sudds was extremely co-operative with police and that the pre-sentence report on the offender was one of the best he’s ever read, making a sentencing recommendation that much harder.

Harrison said the accused completed an anger management course on his own without being court ordered. He said Sudds and his wife, Angela, are parents to three children and have been married for 20 years. His wife and four other supporters were on hand Monday for the hearing.

Mozvik said his client is a self-made individual having been on his own since the age of 18 and now owns a construction firm.

“He’s a good family man, hard-working, who would give you the shirt off his back,” said Mozvik, who presented the court with several letters of support from community residents.

“He’s not a drinker but for some reason that night he had been drinking. He hasn’t drank since,” said Mozvik, adding his client also prepared an apology letter for Hughes.

Mozvik urged the court not to impose a jail sentence, noting his client’s business could be jeopardy.

“There is not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. Nothing gave me the right to do that to anyone,” said Sudds, in making a tearful address to the court.

The Crown is also seeking a compensation order for damages in the amount of $900.

Provincial court Judge Ann Marie MacInnes has adjourned rendering her sentencing decision to July 11.

