Court gives man second chance

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This article was published 09/05/2023 (1233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man dodged more jail time despite fleeing from Brandon Police Service officers last year, thanks to his apparent motivation to turn his life around after doing time in prison.

A judge called Jerret Smoke’s efforts toward his rehabilitation “heartening,” and ordered a $1,000 fine and driving ban for the 33-year-old instead of sending him back to jail.

During the sentencing proceedings in court Monday, Crown attorney Yaso Mathu read the facts of the case.

At around 11 p.m. on May 14, 2022, police were on general patrol at the 7-Eleven on Victoria Avenue when they noticed a black Cadillac Escalade fuelling up at the pumps. Police recognized a man in the car — Smoke’s co-accused — as someone who was known to police for his involvement in criminal activity and that he would often drive around with Smoke.

Police followed the Cadillac out of the parking lot, turned on their flashing lights and attempted to pull the vehicle over to conduct a driver’s licence check, but the Cadillac continued driving. The car later pulled to the right as if it was going to stop, and then quickly sped away.

Police initially followed the vehicle, but due to the Cadillac’s speed — the officer never indicated the speed of the vehicle to prosecutors — and the fact police were only after the driver to check their licence, the officer did not chase the vehicle.

However, after turning the flashing lights off, the officer continued to follow the vehicle and found the unoccupied Cadillac in a parking lot in Confederation Bay.

A witness told police two men had fled from the Cadillac, heading north. Police unsuccessfully looked for the occupants and returned to the vehicle, where they found a phone and identification cards in the console. An Indian status card with the name Jerret Smoke was also discovered in the car and surveillance footage from the 7-Eleven identified Smoke as the driver.

Prosecutors noted that in normal circumstances, a flight from police charge would be a jail sentence. But information contained in a pre-sentence report — a document about an offender’s background prepared by a probation officer — led the prosecution and the defence to agree on keeping Smoke out of jail.

“This is one of the most positive PSRs that the Crown has ever read,” Mathu said, noting that inherent in prosecutors’ work is judging people on their past actions and criminal records.

Smoke has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for violence and weapons offences.

“Despite having had a really bad start to life and a really bad criminal record, [this is] someone who is showing great insight into how his own actions had led him down that path of criminality and then showing insight into this offending on this occasion,” Mathu told the court.

Smoke, who is Indigenous, was separated from his biological family at a young age and bounced around homes while he was in Child and Family Services care.

The Crown attorney said that in the pre-sentence report, Smoke articulated the seriousness of fleeing from police and took full responsibility for the events.

While the Crown acknowledged the fact this charge was one that warranted jail time, a fine and driving prohibition is suitable for what Mathu called a “rare occasion.”

“He seems to be showing real motivation towards making change in his life.”

Smoke has been attending school and is a father to a new child, Mathu noted.

Defence lawyer Myles Davis added that Smoke has also been taking programming through probation services and wants to become an auto mechanic.

Smoke told the court directly he doesn’t want to go back to prison and said he was disappointed in himself after getting involved with the law again.

“My main goal is to keep working on myself and take advantage of all the opportunities or whatever support I have to better myself as a person,” he told the court.

Judge John Combs agreed with the lawyers’ recommendation to sentence Smoke to a fine and prohibition. He noted the seriousness of the charge of fleeing from police as it is an offence that puts public safety at risk as well as the safety of police officers and the person who flees.

Combs said in his view, a high-speed police chase should be an automatic jail sentence. But the judge noted there was no evidence of a high-speed chase in this case, and the pre-sentence report showed Smoke’s rehabilitation efforts.

“Obviously, there are things in your past that will continue to hound you for a long time,” the judge said. “And you need to make sure that you remain diligent to address those issues and not become complacent and get yourself back into the difficulties you have before.”

In addition to a $1,000 fine and a one-year driving probation, Smoke will also be subject to a two-year term of probation.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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