One man learned just how expensive things can get when he was sentenced for dangerous and impaired driving on Monday.
In Estevan provincial court, Kenneth Miller's matters moved to sentencing after he was found guilty of dangerous driving, following a Dec. 19, 2011 incident involving an accident. The 36-year-old Alberta man had previously pleaded guilty to impaired driving.
Crown and defence put forward a sentence together calling for a $3,000 fine and a mandatory one-year driving prohibition.
That's when costs began to stack up for Miller. Judge Karl Bazin said that $3,000 was a low fine under the circumstances, noting that's a fine someone might see for their first offence without any charges of dangerous driving. Miller had a previous charge about 15 years ago, but the conviction didn't play much into the proceedings.
Bazin ordered a further fine of $5,000 for the dangerous driving charge, on top of the $3,000 for the impaired charge, and ordered an 18-month driving prohibition.
The Crown added that the victim is also seeking restitution for their vehicle, which was involved in the collision. Bazin ordered a restitution order of $5,258. With victim surcharges added to the total, Miller will pay almost $13,500. He has one year to pay the fines.
In other court proceedings, Chris McGillicky appeared in custody after being arrested over the weekend. The Estevan man faces charges of break and enter and theft.
McGillicky was remanded in custody and a bail verification report was ordered to be brought back for his next appearance and a possible show-cause hearing on April 18.
Gerald Kanigan also appeared in court on Monday. The local man was in custody, brought into Estevan from the correctional centre in Brandon, and pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, drug trafficking, possessing the proceeds of crime and theft.
Kanigan's lawyer entered not guilty pleas for him as the Crown chose to proceed by indictment on all charges. Kanigan selected a Queen's Bench trial with a judge but no jury. A date for a preliminary inquiry was canvassed for either May 14 or 28.
