While Saskatchewan has a problem of residents driving impaired after a night of socializing with others, that issue is most acute in rural communities where there is little public transportation.
As two young men found out in Moose Jaw provincial court recently, driving impaired leads to a hefty fine and hitching rides with friends or family for a year.
Brody Scott Brown
Brody Scott Brown, 21, pleaded guilty to having a blood alcohol content (BAC) level over the legal limit of .08 and received the mandatory minimum fine of $1,500, a one-year driving prohibition and the loss of his licence. He was also forced to pay a victim surcharge of $450.
The Crown stayed a charge of impaired driving and failing to attend court, while other, older charges will be dealt with during a case management conference on Sept. 25.
Moose Jaw police were near the Crushed Can Night Club on Sept. 9, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. when they noticed Brown sitting in the driver’s seat of his blue Chevy Truck, Crown prosecutor Stephen Yusuff said while discussing the facts. Police approached the truck and noticed that it was operational. They watched as Brown reversed the truck and then drove it forward again.
Officers smelled alcohol on Brown’s breath after interacting with him, Yusuff continued. They took two breath samples from Brown, with the results showing his BAC was .16 and .15, or twice the legal limit.
“I was being a dumbass,” Brown told Judge Daryl Rayner. “It was a lack of judgment (and) it was stupid.”
Rayner accepted the Crown’s sentencing recommendations, giving Brown until Sept. 18 to pay the victim surcharge and until January to pay the fine.
Devon Layne Cochrane
Devon Layne Cochrane, 20, pleaded guilty to having a BAC over the legal limit and received the same sentence and fine as Brown.
The Crown stayed a charge of impaired driving.
Moose Jaw RCMP was patrolling Highway 1 west of the city on June 20 when they noticed a vehicle leave a grid road and turn east onto the highway, where it then swerved from the ditch to the centre line, Yusuff said. Police activated their lights and pulled over the vehicle.
Cochrane had red, watery eyes and smelled of alcohol, the Crown prosecutor continued. He was also slow and shaky as he walked to the police cruiser.
His breath samples both came back at .14, nearly twice the legal limit.
“He is a hard-working young man who lives in the rural area,” defence lawyer Talon Regent told Judge Rayner. “He has made a mistake as other young people have made, which is he went over to a friend’s house to a party in the rural area, had too much to drink, and made the wrong decision to drive.
“He is remorseful about it, but … he accepts that what he did was wrong (and) that what he did was unacceptable, and he is prepared to deal with the consequences of that.”
As with Brown’s matter, the judge accepted the Crown’s sentencing recommendations of a $1,500 fine, one-year driving ban and loss of licence.
The Provincial Court section holds articles that have been written without prejudice with the information that has been presented in a public court of appeal available to the media and public.
