A 32-year-old man pleaded guilty July 28 in Prince George Provincial Court to interfering with lawful enjoyment of property, theft of a snowblower and assaulting a peace officer late last year.
Jacob Johan Vanderminne had been charged with break and enter to a dwelling, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge before Judge Martin Nadon. Nadon agreed to the joint Crown/defence sentencing proposal of eight months time served and two years probation.
Vanderminne was also ordered to stay away from a residence on McGill Crescent and not contact the victims or people who intervened. He must not possess weapons or break-and-enter tools.
Court heard that, on Dec. 9, 2024, at 10:53 p.m., Prince George RCMP received a report of a break-in at a McGill Crescent address where a male in his 30s was trying to get into a woman’s home while she was there.
An officer found a man pushing a red-and-black snow blower on the sidewalk and told him he was under arrest, but a struggle ensued. Vanderminne tried to pull his arm away and said he was not under arrest before punching the officer in the mouth. He got free, but the officer continued to grip his sweater. Three members of the public assisted her.
After Vanderminne was handcuffed, he initially said his name was “Brandon Bannerman,” but an officer confirmed his true identity in the Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME) database.
Vanderminne’s defence lawyer Ervin Ariaee told Nadon that his client was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and has struggled with fentanyl addiction.
On May 5, Judge David Simpkin sentenced Vanderminne to 60 days time served and one-year probation for shoplifting in 2024 at a Lululemon in Vancouver and London Drugs in Prince George, as well as two breaches of probation orders.
Vanderminne was released from custody on bail June 18 to a treatment facility in the Lower Mainland. Court heard that he has been sober for 10 months and is on medication to treat opiate withdrawals.
Ariaee said his client has Indigenous background from his mother’s side of the family, but “he’s not quite sure of the band’s name.”
“He does have plans in the future to connect with it, once he gets his life a bit more stabilized,” Ariaee said.
