‘Vile’ road rage rant gets B.C. man 3 months in jail

An undated image of a car's exhaust pipe (Khunkorn Laowisit/Pexels)

A B.C. man described by a judge as a “vulgar, unhappy misogynist” has been sentenced to three months in jail for unleashing a profanity-filled tirade on a woman whose car he sideswiped.

James Lockhart, who is now 69, was convicted of one count of uttering threats and one count of failing to provide his personal information after an accident following a three-day trial earlier this year.

Judge David Patterson handed down the sentence on Monday – agreeing with the Crown that jail time was warranted.

“Given the highly offensive and misogynistic behaviour of Mr. Lockhart during the commission of the offences…despite his age and not having a criminal record at the time of the offences, I agree with the prosecutor that this court must condemn Mr. Lockhart’s vile, repulsive, unacceptable and awful conduct and language in the strongest terms possible,” the decision said.

‘Hatred and contempt for women’

On Aug. 1, 2022, Lockhart sideswiped another vehicle while trying to pass it on Highway 97, north of Vernon. That vehicle was being driven by Vicki Tolton, a woman Lockhart had never met before, according to the decision.

“The collision caused a jolt to each vehicle but did not affect either’s ability to control their vehicles. Mr. Lockhart caused the collision,” according to the court decision.

Both drivers pulled over to the side of the road, where Tolton told the court she expected they would exchange information after the fender-bender.

Instead, she saw Lockhart approaching her vehicle holding a large hammer, according to the decision.

“He stood approximately a meter from the driver-side door. Ms. Tolton rolled her driver-side window down slightly. Mr. Lockhart was outraged at Ms. Tolton,” the judge wrote.

“While screaming, Mr. Lockhart held the hammer up in one of his hands, cocking his elbow as he did so, which was at Ms. Tolton’s head’s level. Although he did not wave or wield the hammer at Ms. Tolton, she perceived Mr. Lockhart’s action with the hammer to be very threatening. She was terrified as Mr. Lockhart continued to yell at her angrily.”

In an earlier decision, finding Lockhart guilty of two offences, the judge quoted Lockhart’s rant, noting that he shouted, among other things, “You crazy bitch. You c**t. I’m going to f*****g kill you. Do you even have a driver’s licence?”

During the trial, Lockhart also admitted to telling Tolton to “f**k off and die” between six and eight times, describing the phrase as his “go-to.”

Excerpts of Lockhart’s testimony also include him referring to Tolton repeatedly as a c**t while on the witness stand in addition to calling her a “Karen” and labelling her a prostitute because she “looked like a high-class ho” – all comments the judge said “displayed hatred of and contempt for women.”

‘A terrorization’

The encounter lasted mere minutes, the sentencing decision noted, ending when Lockhart returned to his vehicle and drove away. At no point did he identify himself or produce his licence. Tolton reported the incident to the local RCMP detachment, providing the investigating officer with photos of Lockhart, his vehicle, and the hammer which ultimately led to his arrest when he was pulled over seven weeks later, according to the decision finding him guilty.

Lockhart’s defence counsel asked the court to impose a suspended sentence or a conditional sentence order not exceeding 30 days, arguing – in part – that Lockhart’s mental health issues should be considered a mitigating factor.

While a psychiatrist’s report was submitted, the judge did not find it relevant to the issue of Lockhart’s “moral blameworthiness” because it did not “explain how Mr. Lockhart’s mental health issues caused or contributed to the commission of the offences and did not “consider or explain Mr. Lockhart’s misogynist beliefs.”

Crown was asking for a jail sentence of 60 or 90 days, with Patterson opting to impose the longer sentence.

“Although the entire incident at the side of Highway 97 lasted under five minutes, there was, as described by the prosecutor, a terrorization of Ms. Tolton by Mr. Lockhart for no reason other than she was female,” the judge wrote.

Lockhart’s lack of remorse and the fact that his threats were “motivated by his apparent misogynist beliefs” were also considered aggravating, as was the “flippant disregard for societal norms” demonstrated when Lockhart failed to provide his identification or contact information.

“This court does not doubt that the entire experience traumatized Ms. Tolton, as it would most human beings,” the decision said when weighing the impact on the victim.

Lockhart was sentenced to 90 days in jail on the uttering threats charge and 90 days in jail for the charge of failing to provide his ID, to be served concurrently. Lockhart was also sentenced to one year of probation.