A Kelowna man convicted of killing a man with a hammer was back in court Tuesday facing more charges for breaching his probation.

Steven Randy Pirko was charged with failing to report to his probation office, failing to complete counselling and failing to complete his community service hours.

It’s not the first time Pirko has breached his probation since being released from prison for killing 32-year-old Christopher Ausman in January 2014.

Pirko was 22 years old when he got into an altercation with Ausman on a street in Rutland after he’d been drinking. Ausman and Pirko didn’t know each other, but during the encounter, Pirko hit the 32-year-old father with a hammer, killing him.

It took three years before Pirko was charged, and he claimed self-defence during his trial before being found guilty of second-degree murder in 2019. He was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 11 years.

However, in 2023 the conviction was overturned after the BC Court of Appeal found the judge had made errors instructing the jury on the motive to prove intent for murder.

Instead of a new trial being ordered, Pirko pleaded guilty to manslaughter and, having spent six and a half years in jail, was released on a sentence of time served.

Since being released, he’s breached his probation on numerous occasions.

In November 2024, he was given a few months in jail after pleading guilty to resisting arrest, possessing stolen property and breaching his probation. The Crown stayed a charge of having a fake identity document.

Last September, he was back behind bars, having been charged with possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Pirko is currently out in the community on bail as his new breach charges move through the court system.