Jail sentence for man who threatened to ‘tar and feather’employees at former workplace

By Delon Shurtz on August 13, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 51-year-old Lethbridge man who threatened to tar and feather some employees of a business at which he previously worked, has received a jail sentence and been placed on probation for two years.
Darren Scott Kacer was sentenced Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court to just over five months in jail for threatening several Lethbridge businesses earlier this year, including KB Heating, SRI Homes and Lethbridge Iron Works.
Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox said Kacer made numerous threats on Facebook, and in one post blames KB Heating for him being out of work and accuses the company of “gaslighting” him for years. He lists the names of several employees and ends his post with “all of you, I’m ready to tar and feather you. SRI, Lethbridge Iron, watch this, you’re next.”
Police were contacted last April by the manager of KB Heating, who told them an employee who had worked for the company nine years ago had posted disturbing comments on Facebook. Police found a number of posts, including a threatening video of Kacer.
“In that video, Mr. Kacer talked about going into a business, assaulting staff, disarming the security, before stringing them up in the back room,” Fox said.
At the end of the video Kacer warned KB Heating, SRI Homes and Lethbridge Iron Works that he was coming for them.
In other videos Kacer talks about building an explosive device and walking into one of the businesses, and he refers to a hypothetical terrorist or mass attack at Walmart and Costco. He also warns he will build and use a flame thrower to “napalm off your face.”
Kacer said he doesn’t plan to kill anyone, just injure them for what they did to him.
“I’m not attempting murder, I want you to live the rest of your life as an example of what happens to gaslighters,” he posted.
Police found and arrested Kacer in his residence, where he told them he wanted to smash into the ground the heads of the people to whom he referred in his Facebook posts.
After he was placed in the patrol car he kicked out the rear window and smashed the light bar.
Fox said Kacer, who has a dated criminal record for violence, believes the businesses, particularly KB Heating, failed to pay for his training and education.
Calgary lawyer Jim Edgett said Kacer was desperate and unemployed at the time of his threats. He was upset with the companies and made a “misguided” attempt to get a job with KB Heating for, Kacer claimed, treating him badly and unfairly laying him off.
Edgett said Kacer didn’t have any explosive devices or a flame thrower and didn’t intend to follow through with his threats.
“He just really flew off the handle,” Edgett said, adding Kacer has not been diagnosed with any mental health issues, and does not have any problems with substance abuse.
He was, however, grieving his mother’s death.
“This is the result of my mourning for my mother,” Kacer told court. “I miss her. Both my parents have died the last two years, and it was the anniversary of her death. I woke up that morning and I had been unemployed, I was worried about losing my house, and I believed that they (the businesses) were gaslighting me and that they were giving me a bad reference.
“I understand this is not the way to go and I’m not going to continue my behaviour. This was the wrong thing to do.”
Although sentenced to just under six months in jail, Kacer was given full credit for the equivalent amount of time spent in pre-trial custody, which concludes his jail term. He will be on probation, however, during which he is not allowed to go near the businesses or people he threatened, and he must take counseling for anger management. He is also prohibited from possessing weapons for five years.

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