The man kicked one youth in the head, putting an end to a fight at the McArthur Island skate park on April 4, 2023.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops RCMP

A Kamloops man says he already identified the suspect in an April assault on a 14-year-old weeks ago, but he never heard back from Kamloops RCMP.

Joseph Giesbrecht said his cousin is the culprit in an assault at the McArthur Island skate park on April 4. Giesbrecht said he kicked him out of his house in March.

"I literally called them a week or two after," Giesbrecht said. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to because he's my cousin, but I decided that he's too far gone and he needs this to straighten out."

Despite the tip, Kamloops RCMP issued a second news release with a new photo of the assailant just yesterday, May 10.

Giesbrecht's cousin, Jake Johnson, was briefly living in Giesbrecht's house. Johnson was drinking "out of control" and Giesbrecht kicked him out.

"Then he was threatening me in my house," Giesbrecht said, adding he has two young children at home, along with his wife.

This was just days before the assault was filmed at McArthur Island park.

In the video, a man can be seen coming from out of frame and kick one youth in the head, breaking up a fight. He can be heard calling on them to stop the fight before entering the frame.

Giesbrecht said he recognized the voice right away, before seeing his cousin on the screen. After waiting to consider what to do, he called the Kamloops RCMP non-emergency line.

"I've been waiting on a call back for three weeks," Giesbrecht said. "They ended up saying they'll get a proper investigator to call me back and then they never did."

Johnson, born in 1997, was also on probation at the time of the alleged assault. He pleaded guilty on March 13 in Penticton, charged with uttering threats to cause harm. He was given a one year probation period as part of his sentence, according to court records.

Johnson did not to respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Cpl. Crystal Evelyn, RCMP spokesperson, said the lead investigator is aware of Giesbrecht's tip but despite him clearly recognizing his own cousin in the video already released, that's not quite enough.

"The second appeal has been made in an effort to obtain a more secure identification of the individual pictured, now that a better image is available," she said. 

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