A 24-year-old who racked up his sixth drunk-driving conviction is heading to a federal prison for two years at his own request.
In custody during provincial court proceedings in Estevan on Jan. 26, Gainsborough resident Kevin Olney pleaded guilty to this latest offence, along with possessing stolen property, after an incident on Jan. 25. The Crown prosecutor noted that Olney had five previous convictions with the previous one coming with a four-year driving prohibition, and the Crown proceeded by indictment for the subsequent conviction.
On Jan. 25, the Carlyle RCMP detachment were given notice of a stolen truck. An officer located the truck and found Olney asleep in the driver's seat with two cans of beer next to him. Olney was arrested and produced samples of .19 and .17 per cent alcohol, more than twice the legal limit.
The sentence of two years in jail followed by a five-year driving prohibition was agreed upon by the Crown and Olney, who was represented by Legal Aid. Olney asked to serve his term in the federal system to obtain some of the benefits that are offered there.
In court proceedings from Jan. 30, a decision and sentencing on a youth assault matter were dealt with. Judge Karl Bazin found a 14-year-old youth guilty of assault causing bodily harm, after an incident in which the victim was kicked in the groin and subsequently had surgery to remove one of his testicles.
The Crown prosecutor noted the assault was serious for the victim, and with no previous criminal record for the accused, who was 12 at the time of the incident, suggested a period of probation was appropriate and custody not necessary.
Bazin ordered a probationary period of 12 months and asked the youth worker what counselling was available for bullying, as it doesn't fall under anger management, which would be assigned to an adult. The conditions for the period of probation will include 50 hours of community service, writing a letter of apology to the victim and a mandatory assessment, treatment or counselling related to bullying, which will be done through the mental health unit or a school counsellor.
During Monday's court proceedings, Germaine Akachuk pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated assault and elected a trial by Court of Queen's Bench judge sitting alone. A preliminary inquiry is scheduled for March 19.
In other proceedings, Bobbi Marie Gamache and Cody Ward each pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion, an indictable offence, which carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life. Their lawyer, Darin Chow, entered the pleas for them and elected a trial at the Court of Queen's Bench by judge alone.
A preliminary inquiry is scheduled for April 5 in Estevan provincial court.
Jesse James Wilton was found not guilty of impaired driving on Monday, following a trial held earlier. Bazin gave his decision, noting Wilton's defence of necessity.
He went over some of the circumstances in which Wilton was drinking with some people in the common area of a shared house when a man there began assaulting him. Another individual joined in and he fled the attack after receiving blows to the head and being pushed into and burned by the hot-water heater.
Wilton drove off in his car, but was pursued by his attackers. He waved down the first car he came across and had the driver call the police for him. When police arrived they arrested Wilton, taking him first to the hospital to deal with his injuries.
Bazin said the criteria for meeting the defence of necessity were made by showing an urgent situation of peril, the criminal actions were proportional to the harm inflicted on the public and that there was no reasonable legal alternative in light of the situation.
A youth was found not guilty of possessing marijuana by Bazin, who gave his decision following a trial in which the youth, represented by his father, declared innocence because the law was unjust.
Bazin noted that the youth was found not guilty, not because of the defence's argument of legality, but because the Crown failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the youth knew about the marijuana, which was found in a car that he was a passenger in.
For those attending court, Bazin gave a reminder that cellphones are not allowed in the courtroom, and if a phone goes off while court is in session, it could lead to a contempt of court charge.
