Man sentenced for Ribfest ruckus

A Lethbridge man who pulled out a knife during Ribfest earlier this month, then returned another day with a toy gun, has been sent to jail for his bizarre and threatening behaviour.

Joshua Ryan McArthur was waiving around a knife during the festivities in Galt Gardens Sept. 2. He was picked up by police, then later released, but he was back in custody the next day after he returned to Ribfest, this time with a toy gun, which he brandished threateningly and pointed at a woman working in a booth. When police arrived, he resisted their efforts to arrest him and had to be wrestled to the ground.

McArthur pleaded guilty Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, resisting a peace officer and criminal harassment, in relation to the offences in Galt Gardens. He also pleaded guilty to charges of breaching probation, theft, mischief and failing to attend for identification, relating to other incidents.

The mischief and theft charges stem from an incident on July 9 when McArthur was seen smashing a window on a motor vehicle parked near the new drug consumption site. He reached in and grabbed a bag that was sitting on the front seat, then fled, but his crime was witnessed by nearby construction workers.

He had also been ordered as part of a previous probation order not to contact his parents. But on July 1 he went to their home, which prompted them to call police. When police arrived they found McArthur, who appeared high on drugs, eating cereal in his parents’ yard.

McArthur, who appeared in court by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, was sentenced to a total of six months in jail, although he was credited for the equivalent of 27 days he had already spent in custody. He is also prohibited from possessing certain weapons for 10 years, and others for life.

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