Photo: Contributed

A Penticton man who left a backpack full of crystal methamphetamine and stolen identification at the local courthouse was sentenced to 45 days in prison on Friday.

Vaughn Baptiste pleaded guilty to the drug possession charges and charges from earlier incidents including possession of someone else's credit card and a curfew breach.

Crown prosecutor Kurt Froehlich told the courtroom that Baptiste and his partner were observed at Safeway by an off duty RCMP officer on June 29, 2016, going through the checkout with shopping carts full of food.

The pair were arrested when it was discovered the credit card they were using was in someone else's name. Baptiste was arrested and released on a promise to appear.

He was then caught breaching his curfew on Sept. 10, riding his bike on Government Street at about 1:30 a.m. When stopped, he told officers he was going to the store to buy milk. He was arrested and released two days later.

But in February of this year, sheriffs at the Penticton courthouse found an unattended backpack full of methamphetamine and various identification. Investigators determined the backpack belonged to Baptiste, as he was seen with the bag at the courthouse earlier that day. He was arrested and has been behind bars since.

His lawyer, Norman Yates, said his client is a off-reserve Penticton Indian Band member that has studied at university and gets by on a disability cheque each month.

He told the courtroom his client is open to substance abuse counseling and is eager to get out of custody as his partner was recently subjected to a home invasion. Yates also pointed to the guilty pleas as mitigating factors in the sentencing.

Baptiste had 45 days worth of credit, so Judge Gale Sinclair agreed to “kick him out,” of custody, with one year of probation.