FILE PHOTO

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

An Osoyoos man will spend two years in jail after his violent threats escalated to gunshots nearly three years ago.

Colton Jacob Thorsen, 27, was sentenced Aug. 28 for showing up to an Osoyoos home with a rifle then shooting the victim, according to a recently published BC Supreme Court decision.

The aggravated assault on Oct. 11, 2020, had an "element" of vigilantism as he acted out on a grudge against the victim who he believed sexually assaulted multiple women including some of Thorsen's friends, according to the decision.

The pair knew each other and fought several months earlier.

On the night before the shooting Thorsen went to the victim's home and broke a window with his fist then continued to threat the victim with text messages.

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The messages started with the victim telling Thorsen to come back to the house. Thorsen responded by saying he would, but he would bring his rifle and shoot up the house, the decision said. He then sent photos of guns laying on a bed.

Even after the clear threat, the victim "continued to encourage him to do so and indeed told him to at one point to hurry up," Justice Steven Wilson said in the decision.

"After a series of exchanges Thorsen did exactly what he said he was going to do," Wilson's decision read.

The first bullet Thorsen fired when he arrived struck a metal railing, but the second one struck the victim in his lower left abdomen. The victims roommate followed Thorsen as he left, but Thorsen pointed his rifle back to threaten him.

The victim was taken to hospital, where the bullet and fragments were removed.

"By all accounts, he has recovered," Justice Wilson said.

Thorsen told police upon his arrest that he was so drunk he had no memory of the shooting. He also could not recall how he even came to possess his guns in the first place.

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The court heard he would routinely drink between 26 and 40 ounces of liquor a day, but he went to treatment and has been sober since he was granted bail following 212 days of pre-trial custody.

The Crown sought three-and-a-half years in prison for the shooting, while Thorsen's defence suggested a two-year conditional sentence instead, followed by three years of probation.

Even the victim, through a victim impact statement to the court, said he would not want Thorsen to go to prison if it would disrupt his sobriety.

"Mr. Thorsen is to be congratulated for the significant efforts and successes as he pursues a better life for himself. It is not easy to overcome addictions issues and Mr. Thorsen has demonstrated real staying power as he maintains his path to sobriety," Wilson said.

However, he still opted to jail Thorsen with the aim to deter and denounce gun violence.

"Illegal firearms are a significant problem in our communities and put people, often wholly innocent people, at risk of serious injury or in some cases death," Justice Wilson said.

"The nature of illegal firearms is that even if the perpetrator and the intended target in a shooting are both involved in criminal activity, such as drug or gang activity, the risk to ordinary members of the public who are present by happenstance is nonetheless significant."

Thorsen got 318 days of credit for his time in custody before the trial. After serving 412 days in prison, Thorsen will be on probation for 18 months.

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