A prolific offender was sentenced to 171 days in jail for fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle that he crashed in Okanagan Falls.
On Monday, Seamus Kirby, 30, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Penticton Supreme Court for two counts of driving dangerously, possession of stolen property and flight from a police officer in relation to an incident in OK Falls in April.
Kirby was also handed down two years probation and a three year driving ban. He has been behind bars since his arrest so he will only serve half of that sentence.
| Police released this photo of the vehicle rolled by Seamus Kirby in April during a chase. On Monday (Oct. 26), Kirby was sentenced to six months in jail. (RCMP photo) |
At 8:30 a.m. on April 1, an Oliver RCMP officer observed the stolen vehicle parked in an alleyway in Okanagan Falls. Several plainclothes officers from Penticton arrived in the area, and positioned themselves strategically to prevent risk to the general public, RCMP said.
READ MORE: Pursuit leads to arrest of Penticton man
Officers observed a man was starting the vehicle and driving away at 9 a.m. Police gave chase through OK Falls where Kirby crashed the stolen vehicle.
Kirby was arrested at the scene.
READ MORE: Kirby guilty of robbing and beating girlfriend
In 2019, Kirby was sentenced to time served for beating and robbing his own girlfriend.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Kirby attacked his ex-girlfriend on Dec. 17, 2018, punching her repeatedly in the face. He choked and suffocated her while pinning her on the bed, then fled with her purse with $2,000 in it.
When police arrived at the hotel, they noticed blood on the woman’s face and hair, the Crown said. Later that day, when police apprehended Kirby, he had only $750 left of the amount he had stolen. He has been in jail since his arrest, which will count as time served on his sentence.
At the time of sentencing, his defense said Kirby is severely dependent on heroin and meth, and the crimes he has committed occurred when he was in the “throws of addiction.” He added Kirby is a “victim of the opioid crisis.”
monique.Tamminga@pentictonwesternnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
