Lengthy driving ban for refusing breath samples

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/06/2022 (1364 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath sample on two occasions within a month told a Brandon court he was “ashamed” on Thursday afternoon.

The man pleaded guilty to two counts of refusing to provide a breath sample and driving while disqualified from incidents earlier this year. The Sun is not naming the 41-year-old man to avoid identifying the man’s partner, since he pleaded guilty to breaching a no-contact order involving her.

On Feb. 14, the man’s partner went to an RCMP detachment to report the man was in the area and was at her residence the day before, Crown attorney Jonathan Mays said. At the time, she was under court-ordered protection conditions.

The man was on the RCMP’s radar, he said, and they pulled him over. At the time, the man had slurred speech and smelled of liquor.

He had an open case of beer in the vehicle at the time, including four empty cans, according to Mays.

Police asked for a breath sample and the man gave one suitable sample, he said, but he couldn’t give a second one.

Then, on March 4, police received a report the man drove to his partner’s residence and started yelling at her, Mays said. At the time, the man was driving while disqualified from the previous incident.

The man then left and wasn’t arrested until March 6, when at 2 p.m. police in Brandon responded to a report of an impaired driver leaving a beer vendor, according to Mays.

The caller followed the accused to the 700 block of 11th Street until police arrived, he said. A few minutes later, police found the man in the driver’s seat and arrested him.

The man attempted to give a breath sample, but again had issues blowing into the machine while giving the second one.

“We know he can provide a sample, but he’s being difficult with police and just not getting through with the second one,” Mays said.

The Crown recommended a total sentence of six months in jail and a five-year ban from driving — two years for the first refusal to provide a sample charge and three years for the second.

Defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki said alcohol has been a significant issue for the man’s family and several of his family members have addictions. He said the man started drinking at 14, which turned into a full-blown addiction later on.

The man apologized while speaking to the court and said the charges don’t reflect who he is as a person.

“I feel very ashamed of it … I am 100 per cent devoted to not have alcohol in my life. It has done me no good,” he said.

Judge Patrick Sullivan said he hopes the man has reached a moment of clarity and recognizes the “rock bottom” moment. He said the guilty plea is “meaningful.”

Drinking and driving puts the driver and everyone else at risk of injury or death, Sullivan said.

“It’s not a crime to be an alcoholic, but it is a crime to drive while impaired, and that’s a decision that’s being made over and over and over again,” he said.

Sullivan sentenced him to 160 days in jail, minus 144 days time already served, and banned him from driving for four years.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_