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Crimes dating back four years ago catch up to Penticton man

Crimes dating back to 2011, finally caught up with one man who was sentenced to just over a year in jail.
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Penticton courthouse

Crimes dating back to 2011, spanning from Penticton to Edmonton, finally caught up with one man who was sentenced on Monday to just over a year in jail.

Scott Bradley Matheson, 36, was sentenced to one year and one month in jail on a total of 10 charges including one count of assault causing bodily harm, one count of obstructing a peace officer and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Nine of the 13 months of imprisonment Matheson was sentenced to in Penticton Provincial Court Monday came from the assault charge, which dates back to Nov. 27, 2011 in Edmonton.

Matheson was attending a staff party at the Riverdale Community League Centre in Edmonton when an altercation ensued between Matheson and a man. Matheson ended up striking the man who then fell and hit his head on the concrete.

Crown counsel Catherine Crockett said the man was unconscious for two minutes and has faced “long-lasting consequences” due to the assault including losing his sense of smell.

Matheson breached a no-contact order between himself and an ex-girlfriend on April 5, 2012 by texting her friend and repeatedly going past her residence and shouting obscenities. This came after Matheson was arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend on April 4, 2012.

Matheson failed to appear in court on April 25, 2012 in Penticton, May 9, 2014 in Edmonton and once again later that year in Calgary.

Matheson was pulled over for speeding on May 7, 2012, and gave the police officer a false name, and said he forgot his license and insurance papers at home. Matheson had warrants out for him at the time and was driving with an invalid license plate from Alberta. A police investigation uncovered it was the second time that Matheson had used the same fake name, which was that of his former friends.

On April 25, 2014 Calgary police pulled over a Ford F-350 which Matheson was driving. He was arrested on warrants at the time and told the police there was a firearm in the backseat of his vehicle. Police located at .306 Winchester rifle with no trigger lock and a round in the chamber, which Matheson did not have a license for. Matheson received three months in jail on that charge.

Finally, on Nov. 9, 2014 police in Merritt responded to a man who said he had a fuel thief trapped in the Norgaard Ready-Mix Ltd. parking lot on Nicola Avenue. The man presented police with a video from Nov. 7, 2014 which showed Matheson using an electric pump to steal 100 litres of diesel fuel from a construction vehicle on Douglas Avenue. The same pump was found in the back of Matheson’s truck on Nov. 9.

Matheson told police he ran out of fuel on the highway and that it was him in the video.

Crown counsel had initially suggested a sentencing position of fines on some of the charges, however his inability to pay fines over the past few years had Crown rescinding that position. Matheson had over $2,000 in outstanding fines ranging from Penticton to Kelowna including ICBC tickets and court ordered fines. Matheson defaulted on the fines in court and 32 days were added to his sentence in lieu of pay.

“He appears to be somebody who has the ability to work and be a productive member of society and it appears he is choosing not to do that,” said Crockett reading from the pre-sentence report.

Matheson was given two years of probation upon his release with conditions including a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., that he is not to possess tools outside of his home or workplace and received a 10-year firearms prohibition.