Driving offence rates stiffer sentence: judge

A Manitoba judge rejected a joint sentencing recommendation for a man who ran a red light near two schools in Brandon as he was fleeing police, saying he deserved more jail time for the offence that could have ended in tragedy.

William Beaulieu, 45, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court on Thursday to dangerous operation of a vehicle, theft under $5,000 and mischief under $5,000 involving a police cruiser during an incident on July 16.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta reserved her decision in the case for next week, saying she needed more time to consider an appropriate sentence for the driving offence after the Crown and defence lawyers recommended 60 days in jail.

She said that number was “substantially below” the typical 90- to 180-day range for people convicted of driving dangerously.

“I want to respect what the lawyers have suggested as much as I can, but the 60 days they’ve recommended, in my view, it doesn’t fall within an acceptable range of sentence for that,” Hewitt-Michta said to Beaulieu, who appeared in court virtually from the Brandon Correctional Centre.

The offending began when Beaulieu stole various items from Giant Tiger on Victoria Avenue, including a children’s backpack, paintbrush and duct tape, said Crown attorney Melania Cannon.

When police arrived at the store, an employee was on the phone in the parking lot running toward the street and identified the suspect who had driven off in a black truck, she said.

Officers observed Beaulieu stop in the middle of the intersection of 26th Street and Victoria Avenue to remove a white piece of paper that was covering the vehicle’s licence plate. Then he got back into the driver’s seat and headed east.

Police tried to pull him over by activating their emergency lights, but Beaulieu blew through the 20th Street traffic control signal and crosswalk between Brandon University and Earl Oxford School.

“It is in the summertime. School wasn’t in session, but in the Crown’s submission, it is aggravating that he went through a red light where there was a marked crosswalk,” Cannon said.

Police were able to pull him over before he crossed the intersection at 18th Street and saw the him switch places with the passenger in the truck.

When officers spoke to the truck’s occupants, Beaulieu admitted he had consumed edible cannabis. A breathalyzer test showed there was no alcohol in his system, Cannon said.

Police arrested him and took him to the Brandon Regional Health Centre to have his blood drawn.

“While they were waiting for the nurse to draw the blood, he got agitated in the back of the police cruiser, causing damage to the rear camera and the rear light fixture,” Cannon said.

Once he had his blood taken, he was detained in custody at the police station.

She said the Crown hadn’t yet received the results from his blood sample, which can take months to come back. Given the accused had made a relatively early guilty plea, she said she would not be suggesting an alternate sentence range.

Cannon and Beaulieu’s lawyer recommended a total sentence of 165 days for all the offences, including two counts of failing to report to his probation officer between June and July 2025 — charges of which he previously pleaded guilty to. They also suggested he face a 12-month driving prohibition and 12-month unsupervised probation order.

Defence lawyer Chian Jok said his client has five children and realizes driving through a red light could have “ended bad.”

He said Beaulieu is remorseful for his actions and plans to turn his life around when he’s released from jail by returning to Pine Creek First Nation to work in construction. Beaulieu was born in Portage la Prairie and was primarily raised by his grandparents, who attended residential schools.

Jok said Beaulieu has experienced poverty and addiction but has been sober for one year.

He has spent 114 days in custody as of Thursday.

Hewitt-Michta told Beaulieu she didn’t want to make an “unfair” judgment so she will consider the recommendation from both counsel and deliver her decision on Nov. 10.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com