TORONTO 鈥� A British Columbia man accused of swimming naked in a shark tank at a Toronto aquarium has returned home to resume his job as a fishing guide while his case wends its way through the justice system.
David Weaver, of Nelson, recently returned to sa国际传媒 to work after his bail conditions were relaxed, his lawyer, Blair Drummie, said outside court after a brief hearing in the case Thursday.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a good guy, he really is,鈥� Drummie said. 鈥淗e loves fishing. He鈥檚 a fishing guide.鈥�
On Oct. 12, 2018, Weaver is alleged to have assaulted a man outside Medieval Times, a show where actors playing knights joust and fight for the love the Crown and the crowd.
Two hours later police allege Weaver made his way to Ripley鈥檚 Aquarium in downtown Toronto where he bought a ticket, stripped naked and jumped into the facility鈥檚 shark tank.
Police caught up with him four days later in Thunder Bay, Ont., where they arrested him and returned him to Toronto.
He was charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm, mischief under $5,000 and mischief interfering with property.
On that Friday night in October, a large crowd was mingling inside the aquarium, some sipping cocktails during a 鈥渏azz night鈥� event.
The aquarium鈥檚 general manager has said security footage shows a man walked directly to the tourist attraction鈥檚 showpiece 鈥渄angerous lagoon鈥� tank, accompanied by a woman, stripped his clothes, hopped a barrier and jumped into the water around 10:30 p.m.
Ripley鈥檚 called the act 鈥減remeditated and intentional.鈥�
The story made headlines around the world when videos surfaced on social media. Those videos, taken by patrons, show a naked man swimming in the tank with sand tiger sharks, sawfish and moray eels.
Weaver鈥檚 lawyer has asked the court to deal separately with the two alleged incidents from that night.
He said Weaver returned to sa国际传媒 on May 1 and is doing well. Before going home, Weaver had a court-imposed condition to live with his mother in Burlington, Ont., Drummie said. He was also ordered to seek counselling for alcohol abuse and anger management.
鈥淗e did well on his first stint on bail, didn鈥檛 break any conditions and he found employment,鈥� Drummie said, adding that the Crown attorney agreed to let Weaver go home.
Weaver was not in court on Thursday.
His case is next in court on Aug. 7, and a two-day trial has been set for mid-September.
