FILE PHOTO

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Thomas Kruger-Allen was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for his actions outside of a party on Oct. 19, 2019.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Harry Slade accepted a joint submission today, Sept. 14, in which the Crown and defence shared optimism for Kruger-Allen’s rehabilitation.

“I’m really appreciative to be able to take this deal,” Kruger-Allen told Justice Slade when asked if he had anything to say.

Aside from when he stood to speak and to receive the sentencing, Kruger-Allen was seen on a live video feed wearing a blue shirt sitting with his arms folded. Upon the conclusion of sentencing, his younger brother, mother and grandmother all waved to him from the gallery and he waved back into the camera.

Kruger-Allen, now 24, was originally facing eight charges but the 12-month sentence was a result of just three counts – 12 months for Mischief, three months of breach of undertaking or recognizance, and one month for uttering threats. They will all be served concurrently. Charges he wasn’t sentenced for included Break and enter with intent to commit an offence, two counts of Assault causing bodily harm, and two counts of Breach of undertaking or recognizance.

But this won't be new time for Kruger-Allen. The term will be served concurrently along his present sentence of five years, which was delivered in March as a result of “the beach assault,” as his lawyer John Swanson referred to it.

The charges being faced today stem from an incident during the early hours of Oct. 19. Kruger-Allen arrived at a party but was denied entry. He broke a window to a bedroom, caused damage to the apartment building, and when an exchange ensued with another partygoer, a threat was uttered.

READ MORE: 'I lost everything': Court hears from man who suffered severe head injury in Penticton beach assault

Kruger-Allen has been held in custody since then and Crown counsel Joanna Kelly spoke highly about his time in prison and rehabilitation efforts in the meantime.

The prison he’s staying at has renamed one of its programs to the TKA Program, named after Thomas Kruger-Allen, because of how much progress he made with them. When he began participating in a program that teaches Indigenous practices, Kruger-Allen wouldn’t make eye contact, but he now enthusiastically takes part in prayer circles, crafting activities and smudging practices, Kelly said.

Another mitigating factor in Kruger-Allen’s sentencing was his Indigenous heritage, and the impact residential school had on his grandmother who was a student at one.

“I’ll use that word loosely,” Kelly said about ‘student’.

“The legacy of residential schools within a community and family often impair the development of youth and contribute to the development of behaviours that do anything but serve well in their development, often including alcohol and drug abuse,” Justice Slade said. “I am told it had a very significant effect on his behaviours and sense of self perhaps that in large measure explains that failure in judgement and hedonist nature for present offences."

Justice Slade also took into account the death of Kruger-Allen’s father in January of 2019. Kelly said his father was of European descent and described as strict with a mercurial personality and a “very complicated relationship” with his son, and his sudden death caused the son to experience strong feelings of anger and grief which led to alcohol abuse.

Kelly also asked the Court to take into consideration Kruger-Allen’s guilty plea, as he could have opted for trial and dragged all the witnesses, friends and relatives back to court – many of whom don’t want to participate further in prosecution against him. He could have “rolled the dice” by going to trial in hopes that “a reluctant victim might have a change in heart.”

“There are a lot of people in the corrections system who are rooting for Mr. Kruger,” Kelly told Justice Slade.

READ MORE: Crown seeking 6 to 8 months for Kruger-Allen in group assault

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2021