Homeless, antisocial Kelowna man released after threats, racial slurs and violence

Hours before the business community got together for a City of Kelowna-sponsored forum on crime and social disorder, a 56-year-old former homeless man with a criminal record dating back decades was getting ready to be released from prison.

If there was a plan about where he was going to live it wasn’t discussed in court, and there was no mention about what he would do when he got out of jail.

His behaviour was synonymous with what the small business owners were complaining about.

However, after eight months behind bars Jason Cameron Lawrence was sentenced to two more days in jail for his antisocial behaviour and threats of violence.

On Jan. 27, a Kelowna courtroom heard how, in September 2024, Lawrence had assaulted a security guard with a large umbrella after being asked to leave a property on Manhattan Drive.

He then picked up a rock and told the security guard, “I’m going to smash your head.”

Lawrence was arrested and released, and his antisocial behaviour continued.

A month later, a security guard at the Orchard Park Shopping Centre got an ear full of racial abuse.

The security guard asked Lawrence to leave the Hudson Bay and Lawrence responded using the “N” word.

“Fetch me some water you monkey, I have some bananas for you,” Lawrence said. He then threatened to punch the guard in the face.

Months later, in May 2025, he got into an altercation with a Kelowna bylaw officer at a homeless camp.

He threw his coffee cup at the bylaw officer’s truck, shouted obscenities and punched the truck with his fist. As the truck drove away, he kept punching.

Days later, the bylaw officer was back.

“I should have punched you, not the truck,” he told the bylaw officer.

He was arrested later that day, hiding in a tent at the site and has remained in custody since.

The court heard how the 56-year-old had a criminal record dating back to 1991.

In 2007, he’d had a motorbike crash and spent months in a coma. It had left him brain damaged, and he now struggled to regulate his aggression.

However, in 2001, before the crash Lawrence was sentenced to six years in jail for “slamming” his girlfriend’s 21-month-old baby in her crib. The child underwent life-saving surgery.

He moved to BC in 2019 and continued to rack up his criminal record. 

In 2023, he was sentenced to 16 months in jail for more threats and violence. The incidents were similar in nature, as Lawrence made racial slurs at cashiers and threatened violence.

The court heard how the combination of his substance misuse and the brain injury made it very difficult to keep a level head.

The court heard how Lawrence had connected with a brain injury organization while in custody, but that it would be up to him to keep the connection once released.

Ultimately, Judge Clarke Burnett accepted a join submission of time served, which would see Lawrence released in a couple of days.