CRIME WATCH: Man avoids deportation, sentenced to jail time in machete attack

Anil Ramdas sentenced to just under six months in jail, narrowly avoiding potential immigration consequences in relation to August 2023 incident downtown

BARRIE – The man who attacked two others with a machete on Dunlop Street in Barrie two years ago has been sentenced to six months less a day in jail, avoiding a crucial threshold that could have triggered immigration repercussions associated with offenders who receive custodial sentences of more than 180 days. 

Anil Ramdas, 51, was found guilty in February by Justice Nancy Dawson, who had rejected his defence that he was protecting his son. The four charges included two counts of assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Amidst the chaotic atmosphere of downtown bars letting out, Ramdas’s son had become embroiled with two men in the wee hours of Aug. 13, 2023, as revellers were pouring into the street, court heard.

The case served as a prime example of how matters can take several months to resolve even after a finding of guilt. 

“Long in the tooth” was how Dawson summed up the case before granting an adjournment in August to allow Ramdas, who was representing himself by that point, to seek immigration advice.

In addition to a delay in securing a pre-sentence report, Ramdas fired his lawyer and then requested other adjournments to explore legal remedies, including his immigration status, despite the Crown already agreeing to a sentence of less than six months. 

Offenders who are not Canadian citizens can be subject to deportation if they have a criminal record that results in a jail term of six months or more.

Ramdas moved to Canada from Guyana decades ago. He has raised a family in his adopted country, but has not secured citizenship, which added another wrinkle to the case after he was found guilty of four assault and weapons offences on Feb. 28. 

Barrie police issued a public notice the day after the downtown attack, which was captured on both security video from establishments located nearby and on citizen cellphones. 

Police said at the time, and through evidence presented at trial, confirmed that after striking two men the attacker fled toward Meridian Place.

Court heard evidence that Ramdas, who claimed he fled because he feared for his and his son’s safety as crowds began to gather, discarded the machete in Kempenfelt Bay. 

“There were a lot of people around, I didn’t know what they were going to do,” Ramdas told BarrieToday after he was convicted. “I just wanted to get my young son home safe.”

Trial heard evidence that Ramdas went to his vehicle to retrieve the machete.

Ramdas, who operates a restaurant nearby, said he sought the weapon from his van because he witnessed his son jostling with the two men over what was alternatively described as a metal pole or a crowbar. 

Dawson said Ramdas had other more reasonable options available to him. 

“He should not have had that weapon in his van,” Dawson said in handing down judgment almost nine months ago. 

One of the men struck by the machete suffered injuries that required treatment at hospital, while the other man was uninjured.