Prolific offender charged with allegedly keeping girlfriend against her will in Penticton

Photo: Colin Dacre

Penticton RCMP have arrested a man after he allegedly held his girlfriend against her will.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 2, police received a report of possible forcible confinement between a couple believed to be travelling from Alberta to Penticton, according to Cst. James Grandy.

Officers located the pair near a motel on Skaha Lake Road. 

Investigation led to 41-year-old Ian James MacDonald being taken into custody. MacDonald is well known to police and the court system in Penticton as a prolific offender with a long rap sheet of break-and-enter incidents and theft.

As recently as September 2019, MacDonald thanked the court system and Okanagan Correctional Centre for turning his life around and helping him get clean from a longtime substance abuse issue. 

"OCC has offered me a lot, I’ve never met a jail in my whole life that helps,” MacDonald told Justice Gary Weatherill last year.

At the time, Weatherill said "Your heartfelt comments to me, Mr. MacDonald, give me some hope that you have indeed turned your life around."

Less than a year later, MacDonald has now been charged with assault, uttering threats, failure to comply with a probation order and forcible confinement. 

His matter is before the courts and he is due to appear for a bail hearing on Sept. 9.