Kelowna resident Pavla Janeckova was watching TV last April regarding the election campaigns of then premier Christy Clark and then speaker of the legislature Steve Thomson, both Kelowna MLAs.
Janeckova, who had been drinking alcohol, did not agree with what she was seeing and in anger phoned the constituency offices of the two politicians.
“She had litany of complaints,” said special prosecutor Kris Pechet. “Punctuated with some threats to kill them or she’d like to see them dead. But at the same time, she left her name and phone number and asked for a call back.”
Janeckova was charged with two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
Her lawyer called the phone calls foolish.
“No one was too concerned of the reality of some of these frustrations ever being carried out,” said Wade Jenson.
On Wednesday, a judge stayed the charges and placed Janeckova on a one year peace bond. She was ordered to behave herself and to stay away from the two constituency offices and Thomson and his immediate family.
Clark has no connection to the Okanagan anymore so she and her family weren’t included in the court order.
As penance and on her own volition, Janeckova did 20 hours of volunteer work at the food bank.
Reference letters provided to the court say her threatening phone calls were completely out of character.
And the judge noted Janeckova’s remorse.
“She immediately realized what she had done was wrong,” said Pechet.
If Janeckova does re-offend in the next year the uttering threats charges could be re-laid.
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