A 52-year old Sechelt man is headed back to court after being caught driving yet again while impaired and prohibited.
Shortly before 7 p.m. on Dec. 31, an officer with the Sunshine Coast RCMP’s Traffic Services section pulled over a vehicle on Turnstone Crescent in Sechelt. After making eye contact with the officer, the driver jumped into the back seat and then got out of the vehicle through the rear passenger door, seemingly in an attempt to hide the fact that he had been driving. The male had a strong odour of liquor on his breath, and provided one breath sample into a roadside screening device, registering a Fail reading. The man refused to provide additional breath samples.
The driver, who has an extensive history of driving-related offences and was last convicted in Sechelt provincial court less than a year ago of having care or control of a motor vehicle while impaired and operating a vessel while impaired, was still subject to numerous driving prohibitions, including a five-year Canada-wide driving ban.
The man is now facing 13 new charges being recommended by police, including: impaired driving, refusing to provide a breath sample, driving an uninsured vehicle, obstructing a peace officer, three counts of driving while disqualified under the Criminal Code, two counts of driving while prohibited under the Motor Vehicle Act, and four counts of driving while his licence was suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
“It’s disheartening to think that this individual seemingly has no regard for the safety of others in our community,” said Const. Harrison Mohr with Sunshine Coast RCMP. “Fortunately one of our diligent traffic officers has dealt with him before, and took him off our roads before someone was hurt or killed.”
The driver was released on a promise to appear and will be back in Sechelt court in February. His vehicle has been impounded in the meantime.
