Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
December 14, 2016 - 4:30 PM
PENTICTON - A Penticton man arrested by police after a security guard locked him in a storage room at the Penticton Soccer Club was sentenced today.
Steven Adam Gelinas, 34, pleaded guilty to charges of forcible entry and assault and was sentenced to time served in Penticton court today, Dec. 14. The charges stemming from two separate incidents.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Vandersluys said police were called to the soccer bubble around 4:30 a.m. on Aug.11, 2016, after a security guard called to say he had detained an intruder in the building. Police arrived to find Gelinas locked in a storage room. The door had been damaged from his repeated kicking as he tried to get out.
Gelinas, who was also found in breach of a curfew, was arrested.
His curfew condition stemmed from a previous incident which occurred on July 15. Police were called to a Martin Street address after witnesses saw Gelinas assaulting a woman by pulling her hair and throwing her to the ground. The woman suffered face, knee and back injuries as a result of the assault. She told police she and Gelinas had broken up a few days before, and he had become angry for an unknown reason. Gelinas was arrested at the time, later released on a promise to appear.
Vandersluys said Gelinas had a criminal record that included domestic offences, but up to now had not involved any property related offences. He asked Judge Gale Sinclair for a sentence of between 120 and 180 days on both charges, noting Gelinas had been in custody since Aug.11.
Defence lawyer Robert Maxwell called his client “a nice guy” who lost his marriage due to alcohol abuse.
“Five or six years ago he got into the booze, that’s why he’s wearing red today,” Maxwell said referring to his client's prison attire. He added Gelinas knows he needs help to resolve his drinking issues.
Maxwell said the night his client was found in the soccer bubble he had realized he was out past his curfew, found the door open and walked in with no ill intent, but the security guard happened by.
Judge Sinclair sentenced Gelinas to three months on both counts, credited with time served. Gelinas will be subject to a probation order of 18 months and will get treatment for his alcohol issues.
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