Suspect in assault released, arrested again

PENTICTON – A Penticton man arrested last week for roughing up a resident in his own home was arrested just a few days later for breaching his probation and allegedly harrassing another resident.

Kyle Bachman says he was entering the London Drugs corner of Cherry Lane Shopping Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 3 when he was approached by a man asking for rolling papers.

“I told him I don’t smoke,” Bachman says, “and he replied ‘yes you do.’ I said, ‘no, I don’t’ and he started yelling at me.”

He recognized the man right away as the suspect who allegedly beat up an acquaintance, Ken Paton, after he opened his Westminster Avenue door to a stranger recently. Bachman said the man then began saying “inappropriate things.”

“He grabbed me and tried to hit me,” Bachman said. “I broke free and got inside the mall.”

Bachman tracked down mall security and returned to the entrance, only to find the police had arrived on scene already.

“I’ve seen the guy once at the soup kitchen where I help out, and also at the Salvation Army,” Bachman said. “Ken had told me to watch out for him.”

Police arrested Mike Cravens in front of the mall at approximately 2:45 p.m on Dec. 3 for breach of conditions.

"He was not supposed to consume alcohol,” said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Rick Dellebuur, “and we found him at the mall intoxicated.”

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.