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Penticton  

Motel altercation in court

A Penticton motel manager has been fined $750 following a fight between him and group of partying guests he was trying to evict.

Carlo Pontes, 44, pleaded guilty in court Monday to one count of obstructing a police officer in a plea deal that saw related assault charges dropped by the Crown.

Court heard that RCMP were called to the Spanish Villa Motel on Feb. 28 at 2:30 a.m. for a report of an assault. Police arrested Pontes, who was drunk and became belligerent.

He refused to cooperate with police and “became dead weight” forcing three RCMP officers to drag him into the back of the police car. Pontes was yelling obscenities and laughing throughout the arrest.

Defence lawyer Tyrone Duerr explained that his client got into a “consensual altercation” with the motel guests prior to police arrival.

When the police arrived and opted to arrest him and not evict the guests, Pontes flew off the handle.

“My client was very upset about this and felt he was being dealt with improperly, got quite agitated and behaved very poorly,” Duerr said, adding his client is “deeply regretful” about the night and is seeking treatment for alcohol abuse.

The $750 fine came by the way of a joint-submission from defence and Crown, which the judge accepted with few questions.

Pontes also entered a 12-month peace bond Monday stemming from an unrelated altercation in June.



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