Kelowna, B.C. Mounties laud ‘promising’ swift court action with repeat offender

The man behind a Jan. 17 assault at an outdoor shelter site in Kelowna, B.C., near the rail trail has already started serving a sentence for the crime, a situation that’s a marked departure from the speed in which police files were being processed a year ago.

Jonathan Staniforth was arrested for assault after he punched and kicked a man working at the sheltering site at Weddell Place and Richter Street several times before being persuaded to stop by others.

Staniforth was held in custody by police and brought before the courts where, the following day, he pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months in jail. Once his time behind bars is over, he will be on a probation order for a year.

“We take every incident of assault seriously, and want to ensure everyone has a safe place to work and live,”  Staff Sgt. Brendan Dolan who is the Watch Commander of Team 2 said in a press release.

“This is a case of a repeat violent offender inflicting harm and violence towards a community member and it will not be tolerated.”

Dolan said there was strong collaboration between investigators and local prosecutors to resolve this matter quickly and appropriately.

“It is rare for this type of sentence to be delivered so swiftly however it’s perhaps a promising sign that the provincial and national changes that are required to address repeat offending and violent attacks are relevant considerations for today in our justice system,” Dolan said.

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“Everyone deserves to be safe and feel safe in our communities.”

This case is a marked departure from roughly a year ago when RCMP bemoaned the disconnect between the BC Prosecution office and their office.

In March 2022 Supt. Kara Triance told Kelowna city council that the number of property offences awaiting assessment by the BC Prosecution Service was high, and those files not being processed in a timely fashion has resulted in criminals going back out on the streets, committing more crimes before being processed.

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She later said the police are working closely with the BC Prosecution Service to provide more accurate and consistent information that will help all better understand what needs to be done to address property crime in the community.