A prolific offender in Penticton who was arrested for pointing a replica gun at a woman retrieving her stolen bike and for bear spraying another man in the face will spend another 145 days in jail. 

Anthony Randolph Muskego, born in 1989, was sentenced on Dec. 11, for multiple charges that he previously had pleaded guilty to.

Those included possession of stolen property, driving while prohibited, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, pointing a firearm, assault with a weapon, breach of a probation order and breaking-and-entering to commit an indictable offence. 

On Dec. 10, 2021, Muskego was arrested while driving a stolen vehicle, under a driving prohibition issued just a few days prior. 

Although the vehicle was returned to its owner, it had been seriously damaged and driven rough, to the point the vehicle was written off after its owner put close to $1,500 towards trying to fix it. 

"This may not be considered to be a really big-time serious offence, the fact is that it had very serious consequences for just an ordinary guy that lost his vehicle and it was clearly trashed and ultimately written off and he was put through all kinds of trouble and expense because of," noted Judge Shannon Keyes.

On July 15, 2022, a plainclothes police officer spotted Muskego approaching another man from behind. The two got into an altercation, with Muskego taking a backpack off the man, digging around inside and then pulling out a can of bear spray that he used on the other man's face. 

Muskego was arrested at the scene, and the other man ran off, with Muskego stating that he had allegedly stolen the backpack from him.

Judge Keyes noted that the incident was particularly aggravating, as not only did Muskego possess the bear spray for a dangerous purpose, he had actually used it against someone. 

On March 16, 2023, Muskego was arrested after pointing what was believed to be a gun at a woman who was retrieving her bicycle after it had been stolen. 

Although Muskego told police it was a fake and made of styrofoam, Judge Keyes stated it was a 3D-printed single-shot pistol that would require lengthy modifications to qualify as a functional firearm. 

A witness to the incident said they had been on their way home when they heard yelling. They said they had watched the one woman put her phone down and turn to walk as a man, later identified as Muskego, lift his hand and point the gun at her back for a couple moments before lowering it. 

The fake gun had allegedly been acquired by Muskego to deter another man who allegedly had been hassling people. 

After being released on $500 bail on March 17, just four days later Muskego was arrested after being caught breaking into a property on Green Mountain Road through the surveillance system.

On arrival, police found Muskego and another person matching descriptions provided by the property owner of the people seen on the surveillance system with items from inside the building. 

Judge Keyes noted that the Gladue report prepared for Muskego as an Indigenous individual found he had led a tough life and had a tough childhood, starting with being removed from his mother at birth by child protective services due to the depths of her addiction. 

He went through the foster care system, and at one point was placed with relatives in Saskatchewan who abused him for a year. 

The report noted that Muskego has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and has faced addiction himself. He informed the court that he is currently using Suboxone, an opiate replacement, and intends to stay sober. 

"I'm told about Mr Muske, that he's got a plan, and the plan is that he wants to attend Vision Quest on a six-month program in order to build on the success he's had so far in jail, because he's been in jail for quite a while, to manage his addictions and to be clean and sober," said Judge Keyes. 

It was noted that the timing of Muskego's plan was undetermined due to a fire at the facility having caused disruption to its services and programming. 

Instead, he will be released in the care of a relative of his girlfriend on the Penticton Indian Band if Vision Quest is not available when his jail sentence finishes. 

"Mr. Muskego tells me that he's been sober inside jail and that he's had a bit of a revelation while he was there as a result of speaking to another prisoner who gave him advice about the wisdom of trying to turn his life around," said Judge Keyes. "Mr. Muskego expressed to me that he's really eager to do that, and that would of course be the very best thing for everyone if Mr Muskego were able to do that."

After taking into account the 526 actual days already served by Muskego, Judge Keyes sentenced him to spend another 145 days in jail. 

Following the completion of his jail sentence, Muskego will be under a two-year probation which includes attending treatment for alcohol or substance use, as well as a lifetime firearms ban. 

"Good luck to you, sir, I know you've come a long way inside and I'm glad that you made good use of your time in there. I know it's not easy," Judge Keyes said as she finished reading out the terms of Muskego's sentence. "You've done well inside and I'm glad to see the progress you've made and so I hope we can just keep building on that and maybe this will be the last time I see you."