At the regular sitting of the Estevan provincial court, Pierre Bissonette, 48, was ordered to pay a total of $2,600 in fines and was prohibited from operating a motor vehicle for one year, after pleading guilty to driving under the influence.
The Crown advised that on Oct. 17, 2015, Bissonette was told to leave a liquor establishment after an angry outburst. Bissonette, upon leaving, was offered a taxi ride home, declined and operated a 1999 Dodge pickup truck, driving southbound on 13th Avenue, and was stopped by the police.
Bissonette provided two breath samples, each reading 1.5 mg/L. He was subsequently arrested for driving while over the legal limit.
Aggravating factors included the fact that Bissonette had a criminal record, with previous offences that include two prior convictions of impaired driving, possession of property obtained by crime and assault with a weapon. The Crown indicated that another aggravating factor was Bissonette declining a cab ride home.
Bissonette’s lawyer contended the incident was a serious lapse of judgement, pointing out the last time Bissonette was convicted for an impaired driving offence was a decade ago. He noted that Bissonette is a self-employed business owner and operator in Estevan, and financially supports two adult children. Bissonette made an early guilty plea to the charges made against him.
“I ended up storming out of a bar, because I was watching a baseball game and had a reaction to a play on TV,” said Bissonette. “They ended up kicking me out for that. It was not my intention to drive, but I ended up doing it, and I regret doing it.”
Presiding judge Lane Wiegers acknowledged Bissonette’s early guilty plea as an indication of remorse and a strong mitigating factor. Wiegers warned Bissonette, referencing his prior convictions, noting that if he were to be convicted again, it would result in jail time.
Bissonette was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and a mandatory $600 victim fine surcharge.
Travis Milford made his first appearance in court to have the charge against him read. Wiegers read that Milford caused a disturbance in or near a public place, on 13th Avenue, on Nov. 28, 2015, by swearing and using insulting language.
After the charge was read, Milford stated he wished to plead guilty. In response to the plea, the matter was adjourned until Feb. 1, for the Crown to get more information about the case.
Karry Biette’s lawyer, Aaron Fox, contacted the court regarding the charges against his client. Fox stated that he received the accident reconstruction report from the Oct. 14 single-vehicle crash, for which Biette has been charged. The matter was adjourned until Feb. 8 so Fox and Biette could review the report.
