A Lindsay, Ont., apartment tenant who was charged with assault after a bloody pre-dawn fight with an intruder in his home last summer will no longer face charges in the case.

Crown attorneys said Thursday in a courtroom in Lindsey, part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, that there is no longer a reasonable prospect that Jeremy David “JD” MacDonald will be convicted.

McDonald, 44, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon after the confrontation last August, which sparked a national debate about self-defense and use of force in the home.

The alleged intruder, Michael Kyle Breen, remains charged with four charges in connection with the Aug. 18 incident, including possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breaking and entering.

Prosecutor Sarah Repka said in court Thursday that prosecutors were then able to consider further evidence, including medical records and forensic test results that were not available to police at the time of the initial indictment.

McDonald brandished a knife during the altercation, and the intruder was armed with a crossbow, according to court documents. CBC News has also learned that McDonald has a violent past, including a 2001 attack with a baseball bat.

After Kawartha Lakes police announced charges against McDonald, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poièvre both called for changes to the law.

At an unrelated news conference Thursday, Ford told reporters: “If a man comes into your house, holds a crossbow and tries to kill you, it’s just a game.”

“If someone breaks into my house, it’s going to be a bad day for him, a really, really bad day,” Ford added.

In Lindsey’s case, police said they were called to the apartment at 3:20 a.m. after the tenant woke up to find an intruder in his home and an argument broke out. Breen suffered life-threatening injuries in the encounter and had to be airlifted to a hospital 100 kilometers away in Toronto for treatment, they said.

Prosecutor King Repka said investigators “clearly” had enough evidence to indict McDonald in August last year, but stressed that the bar for continuing the charges was higher than for the initial indictment.

The court agreed to drop the two charges against McDonald.

Breen, 42, remains in custody and appeared separately by video link in the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay on Thursday morning.

“I almost lost my life,” he said at a previous court hearing. “He’s chopped up from head to toe.”

Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson said investigators had investigated “all available information and evidence,” citing the controversy in the days following the charges against McDonald.

Robertson and McDonald’s attorney, Steve Norton, did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the charges were dropped. MacDonald himself did not appear in court Thursday.

McDonald has a violent past, court documents show

Historical court records reviewed by CBC News show he has a violent past.

McDonald pleaded guilty to three charges, including assault, following the 2001 baseball bat incident. The more serious charge of assault with a weapon was dropped.

Seven years later, MacDonald again pleaded guilty – this time to assault causing bodily harm in connection with the assault on another man. He was sentenced to three months in prison and 18 months’ probation.

MacDonald also admitted violating his probation and separately failing to comply with a release order.

Lindsay court staff said records show McDonald faced criminal charges in three other historic cases, but detailed information sheets could not be found.

Breen has had multiple run-ins with the law, including failing to comply with probation orders and failing to appear in court.

Lindsey court records Thursday showed at least six separate criminal cases were pending against Breen. He is scheduled to appear in court again next week.

Police said Breen was already being sought on other charges at the time of the break-in last year.