Psychotic episode resulted from ‘controlling’ house guest: Lawyer

PENTICTON – A Keremeos man will not serve jail time for throwing rocks through a window of the Keremeos RCMP detachment.

Robert Polovnikoff faced Judge Gale Sinclair on Wednesday, August 5 facing a mischief charge following a bizarre day in Keremeos.

Crown Prosecutor Kurt Frolik said Polovnikoff believed someone had planted a bomb in the car he was in, and a sniper was poised on Apex Mountain, set to kill him, on July 5, 2014, when he was on his way into Keremeos with his mother.

He jumped out of the car at the RCMP detachment and used the outside phone to call 911 before throwing two rocks through the window of the detachment.

He then headed to the downtown area where he was soon after arrested in front of the Valu-Plus grocery store. While paramedics dealt with superficial cuts to his hands, he told them a sniper was being paid by the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club to kill him.

After his arrest, he told police he believed bugs had been planted in his house and snipers were out to get him. He was subsequently transferred to the psych ward at Penticton Regional Hospital for evaluation.

Frolik told court Polovnikoff had no prior criminal record, and a joint submission from both counsel sought a conditional discharge and a six month probation.

Defence lawyer Derek Creighton told court Polovnikoff had once been a successful businessman until a head-on motor vehicle collision in 2001 resulted in Polovnikoff sustaining a head injury. He said Polovnikoff’s relocating to Keremeos resulted in him feeling isolated and without services available to him in a larger centre. He had a number of stressors in his life and ended up wandering around the village much of the time without a lot to do.

“He doesn’t look for trouble. What happened here was he was targeted by a chronic alcoholic who lived in the area. He could see that Mr. Polovnikoff had more resources than he, and he ended up staying with Polovnikoff, refusing to leave,” Creighton explained, saying the man controlled Rob and his mother.

“Before they went into the village, Rob received a call telling him there was a bomb in the car. I believe he suffered a psychotic episode as a result,” Creighton said.

Judge Sinclair agreed with both counsel, handing down a sentence of a conditional discharge, with a six-month probation under a number of terms including no consumption of alcohol, drugs or a controlled substance.

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