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South Okanagan man has 123 convictions on his record

A career criminal, who now has 123 convictions on his record, was in Penticton provincial court
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Angel Violet Dyck, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and one count of being unlawfully in a house or dwelling. Western News file photo

A career criminal, with 119 convictions on his record, has added a few more after pleading guilty to property related offences in Penticton.

Ian James Macdonald plead guilty on Monday in Penticton provincial court to three counts of theft over $5,000 and one count of breach of probation. He was sentenced to 185 days in jail, but with enhanced credit and having been in custody since August he will serve one more day behind bars.

Related: Property crime on the rise in South Okanagan

“There comes a time, and Mr. Macdonald may have arrived there now at at the age of 39 years, in our lives when we faced with the metaphorical fork in the road. As I see it, Mr. Macdonald is there now and he has two choices. He can go on one path and put his words, spoken today, into action and live a law-abiding and productive life, or, he can take a second path — the previous path that he was on — and continue to, frankly, waste most of the rest of his remaining life in jail,” said Judge Michelle Daneliuk.

Related: Penticton still ranks in the Top 20 most dangerous places in Canada

Macdonald was identified by RCMP and the owner of the Sunny Beach Motel as the person caught on surveillance video going through vehicles between 4 and 5 am on July 18, 2018. RCMP said Macdonald stole a pair of RayBan sunglasses, a flashlight and $2 in change from a Subaru.

Macdonald was on probation at the time he stole from the vehicle and was to abide by a 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. curfew. This is the breach of probation charge he plead guilty to.

Macdonald also plead guilty of theft from Andre’s Electronics. He entered the store as a customer looking for help to repair his own cell phone, giving service clerks his name to access his Koodo account. While in the store Macdonald stole a Sony bluetooth speaker and went behind the counter to also take the manager’s personal cell phone.

Defence counsel Michael Patterson told the court that Macdonald had been utilizing his time at Okanagan Correctional Centre to better himself, including working with counsellors, completing courses and is close to earning himself a red seal certificate as a welder.

“Of course one could ask why he did not do this before considering he has spent some time in custody. Redemption comes to some people late in life and Mr. Macdonald seems to be one of them,” said Patterson.

Macdonald said he was a victim of a violent crime himself and his drug addiction spun out of control to deal with pain he was suffering. He also said he has had very few, if no, positive support system throughout his life

“I know have a lot of issues and problems and I am trying my best to work at. It is difficult to switch complete from night to day, but I will tell you right now over the last three years I have been trying really hard. I don’t spend a moment in here without moving forward either learning or educating myself,” said Macdonald.

Macdonald was ordered to pay restitution, $279 to to Andre’s Electronics, $869.99 to the manager of the store and $332 to the owner of the vehicle that he stole items from at Sunny Beach Motel.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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