A Kamloops man who violated a court-ordered no contact condition by leaving a “love note” outside his ex’s home has been sentenced to three weeks time served.
Owen Lee Coty, 26, was sentenced Thursday in Kamloops provincial court after pleading guilty to two counts of breach.
Court heard Coty was on probation stemming from a conviction last February with conditions prohibiting him from having any contact with his ex or visiting her home. He violated that condition on Sept. 30, when he left a letter outside her house — described in court by Crown prosecutor Laura Drake as “a love note.”
Drake said the note was unsigned but there was little doubt about the author after Coty followed it up on Oct. 9 with a text message saying, "Hey, I left a note for you — not sure if you got it."
Defence lawyer Sheldon Tate said Coty knows he was in the wrong.
“Obviously romantic attractions linger sometimes beyond the restrictions of the law,” he said.
"Mr. Coty is entering an early guilty plea and acknowledging that he crossed the line, but there was no severe contact that caused harm to the complainant.”
The other breach to which Coty pleaded guilty relates to his failure to report to a probation officer between August and October of last year.
Drake and Tate put forward a joint submission for a sentence of 21 days time served plus a year of probation, with conditions put in place to keep Coty away from his ex.
Provincial court Judge Susan Wishart went along with the proposal.
