B.C. man gets months-long sentence for assault, threats, as he waits for murder trial

A Kelowna man accused in a deadly hammer attack on his estranged wife has been sentenced in a separate domestic violence case.

The man accused in a high-profile killing of his estranged wife has been sentenced in a separate case of choking and uttering threats in Kelowna, B.C.

Provincial court Judge David Ruse sentenced James Plover to one year in jail on the choking charge and six months on each of the threat charges, which will all be served at the same time.

Accounting for time awaiting trial, Plover will serve about five months on the charges. He will remain in custody ahead of his first-degree murder trial in the killing of Bailey McCourt.

The identity of the victims in the case involving choking and threats are covered by a publication ban.

In his reasoning for the sentence on Thursday, Ruse said the “main area of contention” between the Crown and defence at a sentencing hearing on Nov. 17 was “whether the sentences were to be served consecutive or concurrent.”

The prosecution had recommended 16 to 18 months while Plover’s lawyer argued that nine months would be an appropriate sentence for the choking conviction and any time for the threats should be served concurrently.

In his reasons on Thursday, Ruse said though each offence is serious, he does “not find they constitute invasions of different legally protected interests such that they should be served consecutively.”

“The court finds the custodial sentence for assault by strangulation and uttering threats should be served concurrently,” he said.

The judge also granted a no-contact condition, a DNA order and a lifetime firearm prohibition as part of the sentence.

Plover expressed remorse at the previous sentencing hearing, saying whatever sentence he would be handed in the case “doesn’t matter” as he will torture himself until he dies.

The court had previously heard that Plover and the victim became embroiled in a heated argument, and he choked the complainant as evidenced by neck bruising shown in photographs presented to the court.

His trial heard that Plover grabbed a machete and destroyed a dining room table and a painting, and expressed “suicidal ideations” to his parents before he was arrested.

Plover was convicted of choking and uttering threats on July 4, and was then freed on $500 bail just hours before he is alleged to have attacked and killed his estranged wife with a hammer in a Kelowna parking lot, before being arrested by RCMP.

Plover made his first court appearance on the murder charge earlier this week, and his next date in that matter has been scheduled for mid-January.

This report by Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press, was first published Nov. 27, 2025.

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