“Don’t screw up, don’t let me down, don’t let your son down,” were the words of a Penticton judge on Monday as he gave a conditional sentence to a man RCMP have called “a huge problem.”
Arjen Jessy Alexander Huber appeared in court to face sentencing for two charges of obstructing/resisting a peace officer for an incident in 2022 that put a correctional officer off-duty for four months.
Huber had earlier pleaded guilty to the lesser offences after originally being charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer on Jan. 20, 2022. The judge presiding over the case ordered him to serve a conditional sentence in the community for six months, followed by a nine-month probation.
The incident occurred three days after being arrested for a number of other charges which are still working their way through the court system. Huber began to experience severe withdrawal symptoms and was taken from Okanagan Correction Centre to the South Okanagan Hospital in Oliver.
After being treated, Huber refused to leave the hospital to go back to jail at the OCC. The two correctional officers that had escorted him called for another two officers to help them take Huber back.
At one point he and two of the officers went to the ground, during which one of them had his wrist broken in three places.
The judge said that the injury to the officer was accidental, due to the severe and abrupt detoxification Huber was experiencing. The judge also said Huber wasn’t operating in a proper frame of mind in giving the conditional sentence, that Huber has a new child to look after and that he had been pro-active in getting and staying substance free since being released from custody.
Crown counsel had requested a 90-day jail sentence.
In addition to serving a 24-hour house arrest, Huber is banned from consuming alcohol or non-prescribed substances and he will be required to undergo counselling or other programming regarding substance use.
Huber was arrested in an Osoyoos hotel room in 2022 for a host of criminal charges including possession of a non-firearm. The main set of charges scheduled for a preliminary inquiry on July 31, 2023.
In open court on Monday, Huber’s counsel said he has been in discussions with Crown to propose a plea deal down to one count of possession of stolen property instead of the slew of charges he is currently facing. He is currently charged with two counts of unauthorized possession of a non-firearm, one count of flight from police, one count of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, one count of possessing a break-in instrument, one count of possessing counterfeit money, one count of possession of stolen property under $5,000 and one count of deal with an identity document without a lawful excuse.
Huber is also currently facing several other charges including two driving while prohibited cases, as well as another flight from police charge from Feb. 2023.
At the time of his arrest in 2022, police said Huber had a a strong propensity toward violence and the community can be at ease that he was finally locked up.
“This male is a huge problem in Oliver, Willowbrook and Keremeos,” said Oliver RCMP Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth at the time.
READ MORE: ‘Huge problem in Oliver’: Man facing 28 charges arrested at Osoyoos hotel
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