Accused who acts on his own behalf needs another Penticton court date

PENTICTON – A Princeton man who represented himself will need another court date after contesting the accuracy of the Crown's details of one of his charges.

Donald Ralph Apps pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, one breach and one mischief charge from Surrey Pretrial Services Centre via video link in Penticton court yesterday, Oct. 25.

But when he tried to dispute the facts alleged by the Crown, the judge tossed his guilty plea and ordered a trial in what’s becoming a far more complicated court case.

Crown Prosecutor Kurt Froehlich told the court Apps was at a female friend’s apartment on Winnipeg Street on July 3, 2016. While there, the woman went to another floor to visit a neighbour, and upon her return 45 minutes later saw Apps walking down the corridor with her 42-inch flat screen television.

She called police, who a short time later found an associate of Apps pawning the television at Mike’s Pawn Shop.

Froehlich also noted surveillance video showed both Apps and his female friend leaving the apartment, and Apps carrying the television.

That could be an important detail because when Apps was asked if he agreed to the facts, he said his friend and owner of the television, told him to pawn it.

“Her statement is a blatant lie. What happened wasn’t exactly what she said,” he said.

Judge Meg Shaw told Apps his plea on that count would not be accepted and withdrew the guilty plea.

Apps was sentenced on his remaining charges, however, that put him in jail for 66 more days. The Crown wanted another 30 days for the theft of the television.

Apps said he recently divorced and found out his mother had dementia when his infractions with the law took place.

“I was a little ticked off with the world,” the 39-year-old construction worker said, adding he wanted to deal with the charges and “get it all together” again.

Judge Shaw strongly advised Apps to get legal counsel moving forward.