Sleeping in the wrong place, waking up in a foul mood results in probation

PENTICTON – A Penticton man who "got up on the wrong side of bed” received 12 months’ probation for his crankiness in Penticton court today, December 1.

Crown Prosecutor Kurt Froehlich told court Bryson Alexander Diaz, along with his girlfriend, was found sleeping in the vestibule of the Royal Bank of Canada’s Apple Plaza branch on April 15 of this year when discovered by the bank’s maintenance man at approximately 10 a.m.

Upon being woken up and asked to leave, Diaz swore at the man and became aggressive, refusing to depart.

An altercation ensued in which Diaz produced a pocket knife. The maintenance man swung at Diaz with his broom handle, who fell back against a bike rack. He then departed the scene, running next door to the MacDonalds Restaurant where he was arrested by police a few minutes later. He spent one day in jail before being released on a promise to appear.

In a joint submission to Judge Gregory Koturbash, defence lawyer Robert Maxwell told court Diaz had been “sleeping under the mat.”

“This is not the place to sleep, there are homeless shelters in town,” Maxwell said.

He noted his 22-year-old client had a Grade 9 education, suffered from attention deficit hyperactive disorder and had also been diagnosed as bi-polar. He said his client regretted what happened.

Judge Koturbash agreed with counsel’s joint submission, sentencing Diaz to a suspended sentence on the single day served and 12 months probation. Diaz will also have to apologize to the Royal Bank’s maintenance man and pay a $100 victim surcharge for possessing a weapon for dangerous purpose.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.