Sober for 475 days and taking his medication, a BC judge has accepted that a Kelowna man with a history of domestic violence can serve his sentence under house arrest and not in a jail cell.

Six months ago, BC Provincial Court Judge Michelle Daneliuk had demanded lawyers provide a risk assessment report and psychological evaluation after they proposed a sentence of three months’ house arrest for Larrabie Cole Bechdholt, who had violently attacked his partner in front of their two children.

The incident dates back to November 2024 when Bechdholt, who goes by the name Cole, got into an argument with his partner.

One of his kids used a bowl and not a plate for the family’s pizza dinner and Bechdholt, who’d been drinking and off his bipolar medication, spiralled out of control.

A chopping board hit his partner in the face, and he was ultimately restrained by a neighbour who heard the commotion and came to help.

But even after police arrived and Bechdholt was in cuffs, he managed to head butt a neighbour standing in the apartment building corridor.

On Feb. 26, at the Kelowna courthouse, Bechdholt apologized.

“I’m appalled by my actions and incredibly sorry,” he told the courthouse. “It took that to realize what a problem I had with alcohol. And today I’m 475 days sober and committed to a lifetime of sobriety, being the best I can be.”

Judge Daneliuk said that very few people who came in front of her managed to stay sober for so long.

“You also are sincerely congratulated for being sober since November of 2024,” the judge said. “That is a very, very big milestone for you… and a very laudable goal.”

Bechdholt was first up for sentencing in the weeks after Bailey McCourt was killed by her ex-husband James Plover. He’s facing a first-degree murder charge for the killing.

The case gives a window into how rife domestic violence is in society and how the courts deal with it.

Last summer, Crown prosecutor Brock Bellrichard and defence lawyer Melissa Lowe had asked in a joint submission that Bechdholt serve three months of house arrest for the attack.

While judges largely have to follow sentencing in a joint submission, Judge Daneliuk wasn’t sold, citing a lack of risk assessment and Bechdholt’s history of domestic violence. Two of his previous partners had to get restraining orders against him.

Now sober for more than a year, and accompanied in court by his mother and the partner he assaulted, Judge Daneliuk accepted the sentence.

“You’re very fortunate that they’re both here supporting you and I certainly hope you appreciate that,” the judge said. “As much as you owe it to yourself, you more so owe it to your partner, your mother, and your children… that you maintain the progress you’ve made.”

Ultimately, the judge sentenced Bechdholt to nine months under a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, along with multiple other conditions.

He was granted permission to contact his partner, but only if he was sober.