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91Ƶ25 years of uninterrupted criminal activity91Ƶ: Penticton man to serve jail time

Andrew Hardenstine had dozens of previous convictions when he was sentenced to a year in jail
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Andrew Hardenstine, seen in this undated police provided photo, was sentenced on April 23 to a year in jail over charges including flight from police. (RCMP)

A criminal history stretching back to 1999 was one of the factors Crown prosecution used to call for a year-long incarceration of a Penticton man.

Andrew Robert Hardenstine, 44, appeared via video in Penticton Provincial Court on April 23, for a sentencing hearing.

In July of 2023, Hardenstine was found guilty of flight from police, driving while disqualified, driving while prohibited and driving with a suspended license.

Crown was looking for a 12 to 18-month jail sentence followed by a probation period, pointing to Hardenstine91Ƶs lengthy criminal record, which contains 62 criminal convictions as an adult and further convictions as a youth.

91ƵMr. Hardenstine91Ƶs criminal record is, in my submission, it is an almost unbroken pattern of criminal conduct which is a quarter-century-long,91Ƶ said Crown. 91ƵIt is a varied record and includes driving offences, some kinds of violence, serious drug offences, a host of breach of court orders. It is a varied criminal record that is almost unending over 25 years.91Ƶ

On that day of the incident in April 2022, Hardenstine, riding a yellow dirtbike, had refused to stop for police and sped off.

Although he was not charged with dangerous driving, Judge Lynette Jung and Crown noted that RCMP had testified they had to give up their pursuit due to the speed at which Hardenstine was driving through Penticton and into Penticton Indian Band land.

Eventually, his bike got caught on a stump at which point he was arrested.

At the time, Hardenstine was under two different driving prohibitions under the Motor Vehicle Act and a criminal driving prohibition.

Defence for Hardenstine protested the Crown91Ƶs proposed sentence, calling it 91Ƶexcessive91Ƶ and pointing to how Hardenstine91Ƶs last previous driving conviction had ended with a 50-day sentence. Separately he had also received a 90-day sentence in 2020 for driving dangerously.

It was also argued that there had been a gap between the April incident and his previous conviction of two years, however, Judge Jung pointed out that the gap coincided with a more than 1,000-day sentence he was serving.

The judge also noted that nowhere in the submissions from Hardenstine91Ƶs lawyer were signs of a willingness to change.

91ƵDespite the fact that he91Ƶs been in jail for three weeks now, I haven91Ƶt heard of any attempts that he91Ƶs made since he came in custody to reach out, to get some programming, to get some help,91Ƶ said Judge Jung. 91ƵI haven91Ƶt heard about any plans for the future. I haven91Ƶt heard about anything about what he91Ƶs planning to do so he could turn his life around.91Ƶ

Judge Jung noted the importance of denunciation and deterrence in sentencing Hardenstine.

Hardenstine will spend another year in jail, even after taking into account time spent in custody.

Judge Jung did not order Hardenstine to serve a probation order after his sentence is completed given his history of failing to comply.

91ƵI decline to impose a probation order. It hasn91Ƶt worked in the past. We91Ƶve tried and tried and tried. I fail to see how any conditions, even a curfew, would assist so I91Ƶm declining to impose a probation order.91Ƶ

An additional driving prohibition was also levelled against Hardenstine.

He will be back in court at a later date for recent charges that came during his arrest for multiple warrants, including a warrant to bring him in for this sentencing.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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