A 23 year old Penticton man will serve 300 days in jail for two attempts to steal coins from apartment laundry rooms, and two breaches after being sentenced in Penticton court today, March 22, 2018.
(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)
March 22, 2018 - 3:17 PM
PENTICTON - Meth-fueled nuisance crimes will cost a Penticton man a 300-day jail term.
Kurtis Clint Kenney entered guilty pleas to two charges of break and enter, assault with a weapon and two counts of breaching conditions in Penticton court today, March 22.
Crown Prosecutor Kurt Froehlich told court Penticton RCMP were called to an apartment on Skaha Place on May 7, 2017, after a resident noticed two men exhibiting suspicious behaviour.
The resident and the building’s manager entered the apartment building’s laundry room to find Kenney and another man attempting to pry open the coin box on a dryer.
The two dropped a crowbar and fled the scene on bicycles before police arrived. Kenney was identified by police after officers viewed photos taken of the two men.
Ten days later, on May 17, police were notified of two men fighting at a Scott Avenue address.
Police arrived and identified Kenney as one of the men fighting.
His opponent, a resident in a nearby apartment building, told police he heard a noise as he was preparing for bed.
He looked in the hallway to see Kenney trying to pry open the laundry room door with a hammer.
He told Kenney he was calling the manager to call the police, when Kenney swung the hammer at him, narrowly missing him.
The resident followed Kenney down the street where police caught up with them. Kenney still had the hammer in his possession, along with .1 grams of methamphetamine.
Police arrested Kenney on Aug. 6 and then again Sept. 14 for breaking curfew in two breaches.
Froehlich advised Judge Gale Sinclair he and defence lawyer Michael Patterson were seeking a joint submission of 300 days in jail for the crimes.
Patterson told court his 23-year-old client had been using his time in jail wisely, taking courses and applying to drug rehab centres.
He said his client wished to seek treatment for his addiction, and intended to move to Alberta for employment upon his release, also noting his client’s short criminal record.
Judge Sinclair agreed to the joint submission, saying: “It’s an easy thing when one is in jail, to get out and fall right back into one’s old habits. Hopefully that won’t occur with you, because these offences, this trying to get a few coins out of a laundry machine, are those of a highly addicted person, because you’re not going to get very much money out of there,” the judge said.
With enhanced credit for time served, Kenney has 13 days left in jail. He also faces a lifetime firearms ban.
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