The late Amy Winehouse sang about not wanting to go to rehab and that just might be the theme song for Daniel Walkus.
On Jan. 21, the Campbell River man received an eight-month conditional sentence and four months probation.
The one main stipulation was that Walkus enter straight into a residential treatment program for alcohol misuse.
That entailed Walkus being released from cells in Victoria and taking a bus straight to the treatment centre in Nanaimo.
But Walkus got off the bus in Duncan and never showed up for treatment on Jan. 22. The same day, the Nanaimo probation office received a call from authorities in Duncan informing them that Walkus was locked up in police cells after being arrested for public drunkenness.
After being kept in jail until Feb. 18, Walkus pleaded guilty to breach of his conditional sentence and was given another opportunity to go to rehab. He didn’t.
This time the excuse was a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. Walkus was apparently headed for the bus depot when he was informed the girlfriend was done with him and was presently chucking out all his stuff from the residence they shared.
So Walkus turned around to deal with that and never showed for treatment. He was arrested March 11 on a warrant and held in custody until Monday’s appearance in Campbell River provincial court.
“Mr. Walkus feels he has more important matters to deal with from his point of view,” said Judge Parker MacCarthy.
The court heard that Walkus has a significant criminal record and Judge MacCarthy said the only way to get his attention is through more jail time. As a result, Walkus was ordered to serve out the remainder of his conditional sentence behind bars instead of at home.
