A two-month substance-use fuelled spree of vehicle thefts and break-ins in 麻豆精选, Vernon and Penticton, including a trailer with over $300,000 worth of lumber, has landed a man an 852-day jail sentence.
After time already served in custody was taken into account, Kevin Brophy, 45, was ordered to serve another 279 days in jail according to the May 23 judgement.
Brophy was sentenced in 麻豆精选 Supreme Court after he pleaded guilty to seven of the 18 charges laid against him.
The judgement did not go into great detail about the specific charges but was summed up as multiple break-ins where he stole or attempted to steal various items, including a safe containing $2,500 in cash and some cheques between August and October of 2023.
He also stole two particularly costly trailers, one from Penticton with a semi-truck loaded with about $300,000 worth of lumber that was later recovered by police, and a utility trailer from Vernon filled with tools, including a generator, chainsaw, and other tools, all with an estimated combined value of $20,000 that was never recovered.
In the pre-sentencing and psychiatric reports prepared for the court, it was noted that Brophy's criminal history, which included two sprees in 2008 and 2011, was driven by efforts to feed his addiction.
After his release from jail following the second spree, he remained abstinent from substances other than alcohol until 2022. He began to drink more heavily and then returned to substance use prior to his spree.
One of the difficulties facing him, according to the psychiatric report, is a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (鈥淧TSD鈥�) with panic attacks, which reduce his ability to cope with stress and increase his risk of relapsing into substance use in an attempt to cope.
Defence counsel was seeking to have Brophy receive a conditional sentence order, which would have been served in the community before that was retracted after both defence and Crown agreed it wasn't an option. Instead, they wanted Brophy to simply receive a time-served sentence followed by a three-year suspended sentence and two years probation.
Crown on the other hand wanted a total sentence of 1,080 days, followed by a two-year probation. One of the terms of the probation Crown wanted was an order banishing Brophy from being within a 50-kilometre radius of 麻豆精选, Vernon, Penticton, and Lake Country without prior written permission of his probation officer.
Justice M. Forth split the difference, instead sentencing Brophy to 852 days in jail over the various charges. That will be followed by a two-year probation but with specific addresses as no-go locations instead of a sweeping ban from most of the Okanagan.
The Justice noted in her decision that Brophy has a son with his common-law wife and that when he is sober he was described as "intelligent, kind, funny, reliable and helpful."
Further, the Justice acknowledged that Brophy had shown genuine and deep remorse, recognized the impact of his actions, he pleaded guilty which saved court time and the victims from having to testify, and the impact it is having on his family.
"A further consideration is that Mr. Brophy鈥檚 criminal activities are clearly associated with his substance addiction," wrote Justice Forth. " When he has his addiction under control, he is a responsible, contributing member of society. For a seven-year period after his release from the halfway house, he was not involved in any criminal activity."
On his release, as part of his probation, Brophy will undertake a treatment program as directed by his probation officer.
