A pair of individuals facing a similar charge ended up receiving vastly different verdicts.
Walter Jenkins, 33, of Ponoka, entered a guilty plea at Ponoka Provincial Court on Friday, Jan. 22 to one count of causing a disturbance and was handed a term behind bars, one that amounted to time served of eight days.
Back on Jan. 15, Jenkins was allowed to wait for a bus inside the Ponoka Esso when a short time later he approached the clerk and began yelling and screaming at the clerk as well as customers. He then took a number of items out of his pockets and threw them on the counter. RCMP would arrive a short time later, finding Jenkins unsteady on his feet as he exited the store and also seized a bottle of vodka he had on him.
While the judge found Jenkins lengthy record as an aggravating factor, he also stated during sentencing that he took into account that Jenkins had been recently released after serving a long federal prison sentence and has been off medication to deal with mental health issues.
The judge added that while the situation is not unique – where released prisoners not getting the help they need then getting put right back into the justice system – he agreed with both the crown and defence that further sanctions against Jenkins will not be effective or in his best interests.
The other person that also pleaded guilty to causing a disturbance was 23-year-old Steven Dunz of Ponoka, who was fined $1,000.
Dunz was arrested around 2 a.m. on Dec. 13 outside a downtown Ponoka hotel after he approached an officer and mistook him for one that had previously worked for the Ponoka RCMP. The obviously drunk Dunz began yelling a number of obscenities at the officer and even stuck his head into the window of the police cruiser and spit on the work station inside. Even after being placed in the car and transported to the detachment, Dunz continued to cause trouble for the officers for a time before settling down in a cell.
Since his release and the laying of the charge, Dunz took it upon himself to write an apology to the officers involved, one that his lawyer stated was unsolicited and a very heartfelt show of remorse.
His lawyer added Dunz was so intoxicated that he has no recall of the events and accepts that he was completely out of control. Court also heard he has had trouble previously with drugs and alcohol and is thankful the officers didn’t lay more serious charges.
In handing out the fine, the judge stated the court takes these kind of disrespectful actions toward police seriously and he normally has no time for people that treat officers in that manner. However, a guilty plea at the first opportunity as well as his apology mitigated what would have been a much larger penalty.