Man spared jail after assault of taxi driver

Judge hands 18-month suspended sentence to 30-year-old man who refused to pay fare in Penticton

The court system must protect cab drivers and others who place themselves in a vulnerable situation, a judge said Thursday in a Penticton courtroom.

Reluctantly, Justice Gregory Koturbash agreed to an 18-month suspended sentence for a 30-yearold man who assaulted a cabbie in the summer of 2016.

Josh Calverly pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon in an incident that occurred Sept. 6, 2016, in Penticton during the late evening.

Calverly had called a cab to drive him to his residence. When it arrived at the destination, he refused to pay the fare and then assaulted the driver, grabbing him by the throat while holding a rod in his hand. The assault occurred in front of an eyewitness.

He was arrested at his residence shortly after.

In a joint submission by Crown counsel John Swanson and defence attorney Michael Patterson, they agreed to 18 months of probation with several strict conditions.

Patterson said his client did not have a criminal record prior to his arrest and he has abided by all conditions of his release. His client has expressed remorse and is “ashamed” of his actions. His client entered an extensive rehabilitation program and has since been able to secure employment in Rutland.

“I’m sorry for what happened. I was going through a hard time and drugs had taken over my life,” said Calverly, dressed in blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

He credits the VisionQuest program for turning his life around. Through their guidance, he kicked his addiction to alcohol and drugs and was also able to quit smoking.

Koturbash said in Canadian law it’s extremely difficult for a judge to overrule a joint submission by the Crown and defence. It occurs only in rare circumstances.

“The courts and our criminal justice system have to deal with people who assault cab drivers, who place themselves in a very vulnerable position and provide an essential service to our communities,” Koturbash said. “Somebody who preys on a cab driver in the way that you did, not paying the fare and grabbing him by the throat, is a very serious matter. Activities such as these can not be tolerated.”

Koturbash is concerned that with the advent of ride-sharing services such as Uber, it could place their drivers in an even more vulnerable situation than professionally trained cabbies.

Koturbash warned Calverly that should he break any of his courtordered conditions, he will strongly suggest an application to revoke the suspended sentence.

Terms of his probation include abstaining from alcohol and nonprescribed drugs, having no contact with the victim or Courtesy Taxi, being under the supervision of a probation officer, and paying $50.05 to Courtesy Taxi and a $500 victim surcharge, the latter of which he will have 12 months to pay. He may not possess any weapons and must immediately provide police with a DNA sample.

The victim was not in the courtroom.