Neil Allison Ryerson appears in this 2012 photo.
Image Credit: Crimerstoppers
December 05, 2024 - 7:00 AM
A 58-year-old Penticton man who has been imprisoned multiple times for domestic violence has managed to postpone what will likely be more time behind bars after his lawyer quit on him the day he was to be sentenced.
At the Penticton courthouse, Dec. 3, defence lawyer Stanley Varga told BC Provincial Court Judge Clarke Burnett he was no longer Neil Allison Ryerson's lawyer, delaying the scheduled sentencing hearing again.
The defence lawyer said the relationship between him and the accused had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer represent him.
Ryerson had been scheduled to be sentenced for a domestic assault and breaching his probation. The domestic assault took place in October 2021 and Ryerson pleaded guilty in April.
However, since then, the 58-year-old has remained out and about as his sentence hearing has been adjourned on three separate occasions.
Crown prosecutor Kurt Froehlich said he was reluctant to delay the court proceedings again but accepted that Ryerson needed legal counsel before being sentenced.
Froehlich said he was going to argue that Ryerson spend two years in jail.
"I don't think it's fair what you're asking for," Ryerson told the court.
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"I appreciate that you may disagree with the Crown's position. That's entirely your right. That's why you need a lawyer to assist you," Judge Burnett said.
Ryerson has a lengthy criminal record, with the majority of his charges being for assault on intimate partners.
He has been jailed multiple times and convicted about 10 times for assaulting his partners with the first conviction dating back almost 25 years.
He's taken multiple counselling programs while in jail to deal with anger management and alcoholism.
Ryerson will be back in court later this month, but won't be sentenced until sometime in the new year.
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