Vernon dine and dasher’s apology gets him released from custody

A serial dine-and-dasher, whose courtroom antics have kept him behind bars longer than his sentence, has been released after he apologized to the judge.

Vernon resident Travis Delain Kroeker told BC Provincial Court Judge Jeremy Guild he’d like to do something to make up for his poor behaviour.

“Your apologies are accepted,” Judge Guild said. “You’re obviously in a better state of mind.”

Kroeker’s behaviour is a far cry from weeks earlier.

“Mr. Kroeker has now pulled down his pants and showing his naked bottom to the court on video,” the judge had said during the Feb. 25 sentence hearing.

Kroeker’s mooning came after a rant in which he’d said the judge was corrupt and evil, and called him a “piece of shit.”

He’d already insulted Crown prosecutor Corinna Merry, calling her a “dumb bitch” and saying that she should be in jail for the rest of her life.

Appearing from custody on camera, Kroeker had been muted for much of the earlier proceedings, but got his message across by giving the judge the middle finger with both hands.

Ordinarily, even the most hardened of criminals know to be polite in front of the judge, but Kroeker appeared to want to make life harder for himself.

After being denied bail, he’d threatened the life of a different judge, referencing a movie where a judge had been assassinated.

He’d made other more bizarre comments, calling Canada a “cult” and asking a witness if he believed in magic.

Kroeker found himself in custody after he embarked on a spree of dine-and-dash incidents in Vernon last year.

His behaviour had been belligerent, as he’d ordered food and drink and in some cases simply refused to pay. 

He’d ripped off the Kalamalka Hotel, Denny’s, Brown’s Social House, Masiero Pizzeria, The Winston Pub, and the Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant, where he’d also assaulted a server.

As he had no previous criminal record, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail in total, but languished behind bars waiting for his contempt of court hearings.

At 42 years old, it’s very late in the game to start committing crimes. One old acquaintance told iNFOnews.ca that Kroeker was a red seal electrician and had previously worked up north for years. He’d made good money and paid his bills.

After his apology, which Judge Guild said was “heartfelt,” the judge purged his contempt of court files and ordered him to be released.

“You’re obviously in a better state of mind,” the judge said. “And given where you are now, I can just ask you to continue on the same path that you seem to be on now, which is moving in the right direction.”

While Kroeker has been released, his ordeal with the courts isn’t over yet.

He’s scheduled to go to trial in June for running off without paying his tab in Denny’s last August.