A man with a history of escaping from custody has received a nine-year prison sentence in connection with the confinement and torture of two women in Valemount.
Timothy Shawn Preddy, 46, was convicted last February of two counts each of unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. He was sentenced Friday morning in B.C. Provincial Court in Port Coquitlam.
The incident took place in August 2008, after Preddy and two women drove from Alberta to B.C. to escape legal problems. The trio, which included a woman who lived common-law with Preddy and a female friend, began purchasing and using drugs as soon as they arrived in Valemount, a village about 300 kilometres southeast of Prince George.
According to Judge Darrell O'Byrne's reasons for sentence, while in B.C. there were many "comings and goings, and to-ings and fro-ings" between the provinces to procure drugs.
Preddy was often high on crack cocaine and grew increasingly paranoid during this time, which led to the incident.
One day he confined both women in their motorhome and tied them up. He abused the women, including using a hammer on one and choking the other until she was unconscious. He forced one of the women to take drugs until she passed out.
The crimes were discovered after one of the women escaped and was found running down the street with her hands tied behind her back.
Preddy, who sported a long, grey beard and longer hair than in his mug shot photo, sat handcuffed and in leg irons as he represented himself in court.
The judge said Preddy's submissions show he has a good grasp of his situation and is able to make clear arguments. He also expressed remorse, O'Byrne said, and wants to stay out of prison after he is released.
"Now he's aware and he does recognize it was a stupid game he took way beyond what it should have been," O'Byrne said.
O'Byrne imposed a nine-year sentence that will be reduced by four years after giving Preddy credit for time already spent in custody. That means five years of new prison time.
Preddy has a lengthy criminal record, which includes six robberies and six escapes from custody. The most well-publicized was his escape from the maximum-security Prince George Regional Correctional Centre on his 44th birthday.
On Aug. 2, 2009 Preddy had made his bed up to appear as if he were sleeping and hid in a closet. When the guards were distracted by a fake medical emergency he came out of the closet and, using a piece of porcelain from a sink, broke a window and climbed onto the roof. He used bed sheets braided into a rope to reach the ground and went to a waiting car.
Preddy was on the lam for six weeks. On Nov. 15, 2010, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of prison break. He was not given any credit for time served and ordered to serve at least half the sentence before being eligible for parole.
An appeal of that sentence was dismissed by the B.C. Court of Appeal in July 2011.
Preddy will now be sent to Alberta to deal with charges in connection with a vicious robbery that took place in Duffield in June 2008.
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