Long list of charges resolved in Penticton with more than one year jail

PENTICTON – A Penticton man will serve more than a year in jail for a long list of charges involving numerous incidents taking place in two provinces, over several years.

The law caught up with Scott Bradley Mathieson in Penticton Courthouse yesterday, Dec.14, as Judge Gale Sinclair sentenced Mathieson to a total of 380 days in jail based on nine separate charges, the most serious one a charge of assault.

On Nov. 11, 2011, Mathieson was accused of punching a man while standing outside a business in Edmonton. The victim fell to the ground, striking his head, which resulted in long term consequences including loss of sense of smell, Crown prosecutor Catherine Crockett said.

In another incident, Mathieson was also found guilty of breaching a no contact order on April 4, 2012, when he contacted a former girlfriend. A day later, he was charged with failure to appear when he didn’t show up for a court appearance.

On May 7, 2012, Mathieson was pulled over in Penticton at Fairview Avenue and the Channel Parkway. He had no license or identification, and when asked, gave a false name and date of birth. He convinced the officer to let him drive to his residence to pick up his identification, but failed to report back to police, who were later able to identify him.

On April 25, 2014, Mathieson was pulled over in a Ford F-250 pickup truck in Calgary and arrested for outstanding warrants. He then told police he had a Winchester rifle in the back seat, for which he had no permit, in addition to being improperly stored.

Mathieson was charged with two more counts of failure to appear in a Calgary courtroom in May, 2014.

On Nov. 9, 2014, Mathieson was spotted trying to pump fuel from a loader parked at a Merritt business. A worker identified the truck from a video surveillance tape as being similar to one that had taken gas from the loader two days before.

The worker boxed Mathieson’s truck in and called police. Mathieson confessed to the fuel thefts, which amounted to more than 100 litres.

Crockett described 36-year-old Mathieson’s pre-sentence report as “not a glowing one,” noting he could work if he chose to. He also had significant drug problems and was not taking steps to help himself, she told court.

Defense lawyer James Pennington said Mathieson deserved some credit for getting all his charges together to be dealt with. He said Mathieson, who is single, worked from time to time in the oil patch but there wasn’t much going on right now. He had sought psychiatric help, but had no B.C. health number.

Judge Sinclair agreed some credit was due Mathieson, but noted the long list of counts and activities spread across two provinces.

Mathieson was given nine months' jail time for the assault charge, 30 days for impersonation, and two 10-day concurrent sentiences for theft of the diesel fuel, in addition to a number of smaller jail sentences for his other charges, for a total of 348 days in jail. He was also given an additional 32 days in lieu of  $2,000 worth of outstanding fines issued in B.C. and Alberta.

Mathieson also faces two years’ probation with a number of conditions.

To contact a 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.