Born and raised in Prince George, Joshua Tyler Bredo had a dark past even before his latest act of committing manslaughter.
He was sentenced Tuesday in Victoria to a nine-year sentence after killing Daniel Levesque in an apartment in Aug. 3, 2011.
A noted local political animal, Bredo first appeared in the press in October 2001 as the local spokesperson for the local Young Liberals of Canada.
Bredo, then 16, was attending College Heights secondary school.
In June 2004, Bredo worked as a campaign employee for Conservative MP Dick Harris.
Later that year, Bredo and others raised allegations that Harris had engaged in improprieties during the party's candidate selection process, including an alleged scheme to procure federal government money for bogus service contracts.
RCMP investigated the allegations and cleared Harris of wrongdoing.
Bredo's skirts with controversy did not end there.
In October 2007, Bredo, then using the name Baba, pledged $10,000 of his own money to start a foundation in Prince George in the name of fallen soldier
Cpl. Matthew McCully.
Ten months later, the McCullys came forward to say Bredo left them with surprise bills of about $2,300 they had to pay themselves after a theatre performance was held and a gala dinner was planned, then cancelled with only days notice.
"Things happened, all in the name of our foundation, that muddied the name of a Canadian hero, my son, who gave his life in service for our country," Ron McCully told The Citizen in 2008.
"We feel embarrassed, ashamed, and we don't know what to do to get back on track."
One of the chief concerns of the McCully family was the belief they had been given by Bredo, who was leading the arrangements for the gala dinner, that the guest of honour was going to be then-Gov.-General Michalle Jean.
They were alerted by the RCMP that no security orders, which would always accompany a visit by the governor general, had been made for the visit.
Bredo told The Citizen at the time that he would be happy to help tie up any loose ends back in Prince George, like the alleged bills.
In June 2009, Calgary mayoral candidate George Dadamo pulled his name from the running after the Calgary Herald revealed Bredo's past.
Dadamo, a former Ontario New Democrat, had hired as Bredo as his executive assistant.
In August, 2010 The Cranbrook Daily Townsman reported Bredo, using the name Josh Chartier, had surfaced there working for federal Conservative nominee David Wilks.
Wilks said he hired Bredo to work on his campaign briefly but was left holding the bill for signs, pictures and a website he didn't realize Bredo had created.
Earlier that month, the City of Cranbrook had issued a press release stating the city had no affiliation with a pair of events Bredo was promoting in the city.
"Be it known, the corporation of the City of Cranbrook, Mayor Scott Manjak, members of council and city administration have no affiliation with this individual in any way and have provided no endorsement (implied or otherwise) for his business activities and solicitation," the statement said.
In 2011, when Bredo was first charged with the death, a family member who agreed to speak anonymously, said Bredo has been estranged from his family for years, described him as a "psycho sociopath" and alleged he had previous trouble with the law.
