A man who punched a host and a woman in line outside Revelstoke’s Traverse Nightclub has received a conditional discharge for the injuries and financial burden he caused the two victims.
Drayden Steele, 25, appeared virtually in the Revelstoke provincial courtroom on Wednesday, May 13, where Justice Jeremy Guild weighed whether the offender’s actions warranted a jail sentence.
On Jan. 10, 2025, Steele showed up with friends to Traverse for a live local music event but left after finding they’d have to wait outside in line, according to Crown prosecutor Danika Heighes. Steele and his friends returned to the club later that night, by which point Steele had consumed cocaine and alcohol, defence lawyer Harleen Gill confirmed.
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The court heard that while waiting in the queue to enter the club, Steele grew impatient and had a heated conversation with the host manning the door, Oliver Cooper. He suddenly punched Cooper twice in the head, knocking him to the ground. Steele then blindly swung behind him, striking another guest, Laura Larson, in the face, Heighes recounted.
Steele, a first-time offender with no prior criminal record, was working for CPKC as a train conductor at the time. Following the assault at Traverse on Jan. 10, 2025, he pleaded guilty to assaulting Cooper and Larson.
Victim impact statements described serious injuries and repercussions for Cooper and Larson, including a concussion, split lip, cracked jaw, hearing problems, seven months of rehabilitation, prolonged time off work and subsequent debt accumulation from being left unable to work. Larson’s statement said the incident “took my dignity,” leading her to leave Revelstoke and change jobs amid the fear of running into Steele again in the small town.
Larson’s statement also claimed that tighter security at Traverse could have prevented this violent incident.
Brady Beruschi, owner of Traverse, told Black Press Media the safety of guests and staff remains a priority for the club. However, he noted Traverse provides less direct supervision outside the building than inside.
“Our team’s primary control is over the licensed premises and the guest experience once people are inside the venue,” Beruschi said by email.
This includes four or five hosts working with a manager to monitor the club, check IDs, handle guests, de-escalate situations and maintain a positive setting. Still, “we are always reviewing our procedures and looking for ways to improve,” he added.
Heighes argued the importance of the 2025 offence being reflected on Steele’s criminal record, to show higher denunciation and deterrence. She described Steele’s actions as an “unprovoked, sudden attack” that also harmed Cooper in his line of work, and pushed for a two-year suspended jail sentence.
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Gill countered that Steele’s offence warranted conditional discharge with 12 to 18 months of probation, because a jail sentence would prevent him from traveling for work and a criminal conviction could jeopardize his plans to pursue a career as a power engineer.
She said Steele had an “unstable childhood”; his parents were reportedly substance users, and he was raised by his grandmother. Gill also reported that Steele was stabbed by a stranger in 2019 or 2020, which has continued to cause him mental lapses — such as what Gill claimed to have happened when Steele punched Cooper and Larson.
“It was an isolated offence that occurred by impulse,” Gill said. “He has found trauma throughout his life, but continued to put the hardships aside.”
Justice Guild didn’t buy that argument.
“I don’t get the connection, to be frank,” he said, not understanding why Steele’s own experience of being assaulted didn’t dissuade him from harming others. “The choice to swing at somebody’s head is certainly a deliberate choice.”
It also should’ve been obvious to Steele, after waiting in line at Traverse for some moments, that the person standing behind him (Larson) didn’t work at the club or have any reason to be implicated, Justice Guild noted.
“One unprovoked attack is too many,” he said.
Justice Guild asked to hear how Steele planned to make it up to Cooper and Larson, given the expenses and setbacks they experienced after being punched.
“At the end of the day, that’s the real problem,” he said.
Gill said Steele was prepared to pay up to $3,000 to the victims over the coming months and write them both an apology letter.
But Larson spoke up during the hearing on Wednesday to say she didn’t need money from Steele because her life took a turn for the better after she left Revelstoke and changed careers following the incident.
“It’s been a blessing in disguise for me,” she told Justice Guild.
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Still, Justice Guild noted that Steele’s actions meant Larson “lost a chance to try the life she wanted to have in Revelstoke,” on top of the trauma and isolation she experienced after being punched.
Since the incident, Steele has seen a counsellor and stopped consuming alcohol and cocaine, according to Gill.
After some consideration, Justice Guild sided with Gill’s recommendation to grant Steele conditional discharge with 18 months’ probation. Steele must pay $2,250 restitution with a victim fine surcharge by April 30, 2027, and must also write an apology to Cooper and Larson by July 31, 2026.
Steele may not otherwise have contact with them, and Justice Guild approved an additional condition from the Crown for Steele to be banned from all recreational substances.
“Mr. Steele, continue making those positive steps,” Justice Guild concluded.