An Estevan man who recently completed a jail sentence was sentenced again, this time to four months in jail.
Kristofer Douglas Donald was in custody during his Estevan provincial court appearance on Monday when he pleaded guilty to several charges. It was August 2011, when Donald was sentenced to 15 months in jail. These charges stem from different incidents between June 24 and Aug. 11.
The 21-year-old was first arrested in Weyburn on June 24 for impaired driving and being in possession of stolen property under $5,000. The car he was driving was stolen by his passenger. That night he submitted blood-alcohol readings of 0.14 and 0.12.
Donald was later arrested on Aug. 11 when he was driving on grid roads near Boundary Dam. Crown prosecutor Andrew Davis said Donald had passengers who say he was driving at a high rate of speed and the car was fishtailing on the gravel roads.
Eventually Donald lost control, rolling the vehicle into the ditch near Highway 47. He and his passengers then fled the vehicle on foot before being apprehended by police. He was originally charged again for impaired driving but gave sample below the legal limit when back at the police station.
Since then, Donald has been in custody.
Davis called for a "short and sharp" sentence, considering Donald's record, which goes back into his youth and often involves alcohol.
"He does very badly with conditions in the community," said Davis. "There's no real option for him but a period of incarceration at this point."
He suggested six months in jail would be appropriate.
While Donald's Legal Aid counsel agreed that a short jail term was necessary, Greg Wilson called for a shorter term of between 30 and 60 days. He noted Donald served a lengthy jail term with his last sentence, which was for more serious offences, but said there was nothing in these most recent incidents that was particularly aggravating.
Presiding Judge James Benison did have some reservations about the length of the sentence being asked by defence, saying that offenders with alcohol problems tend to re-offend, especially if their charges involve driving.
"The thing that gives me most concern is that the accused admitted issues with alcohol," said Benison. "He is driving in one case with blood over the legal limit. He is driving in another case in a dangerous manner while having consumed alcohol."
Benison decided on a four-month jail term. He received three months for the dangerous driving charge and one month for the impaired driving offence. Donald will receive 10 days credit for his time on remand and is subject to a one-year driving prohibition.
In other court proceedings, Philip Arndt made his first court appearance Monday when his lawyer appeared by phone. The man from the RM of Edward in Manitoba is charged with impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm as well as dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm from an incident in February.
The matter was adjourned to Oct. 22.
