Judge says sentence would have been harsher had Crown asked

The man, born in 1972, was found guilty after a July trial of mischief under $5,000 for scrawling graffiti on a downtown building at 1323 5th Ave. between April 3 and 8 with a Sharpie marker.

Judge Michael Brecknell agreed with Sarah Grogan’s proposed 300-day sentence, reduced to 90 days because of 210 days of pre-sentence credit. Reid will be on probation for a year after his release.

“Something in the range of 12 to 14 months could well have been justified,” Brecknell said.

Brecknell said Reid’s crime was aggravated by his record of convictions for similar offences.

He has been convicted nine times for mischief, three times for assault causing bodily harm or assault with a weapon, twice each for breaching court orders and making threats, and once for possessing a weapon. Brecknell said Reid has broken a window three times, broken a vehicle windshield and scrawled graffiti on a lamp post. He also damaged the headset of a government worker and hit a patron at the St. Vincent de Paul Society drop-in centre.

“Mr. Reid is a troubled person. He has had difficulty moving about in the community and maintaining a pro-social lifestyle,” Brecknell said. “He is a vulnerable member of the community, often being homeless and having to rely on numerous community resources.”

Grogan earlier told Brecknell that she spoke with Prince George Regional Correctional Centre officials, who said Reid has acted aggressively in jail through “agitated behaviour, racist comments, disrespectful interactions with staff and behavioural outbursts.”

Most recently, on Aug. 25, he allegedly damaged broom handles by throwing them from the fourth floor of the yard.

“Mr. Reid has not been undertaking any rehabilitative programming or otherwise while in custody,” Grogan said.

Before deciding the sentence, Brecknell heard a community impact statement from Chrisie Berry, executive director of the 450-member Downtown Prince George Business Improvement Association. Berry said the incident, like many before it, normalizes property damage and undermines efforts to revitalize downtown.

She told Brecknell that a 2025 survey found 55 businesses had suffered repeated vandalism, broken windows, break-ins, theft, threats and open drug use, with total losses estimated at $4.5 million.

“Each incident adds to the financial burden on businesses, affects the sense of safety felt by employees and customers, discourages the reporting of crime and undermines confidence in the future of our downtown,” Berry said. “Accountability for offences such as this is important, not only for the individual victim, but for the broader business community. It sends a clear message that repeated acts of vandalism against businesses are not victimless crimes, and that the cumulative harm they cause to our downtown is recognized.”