A man with a 16-page criminal record was sentenced to one year of house arrest, followed by six months under curfew, during an Aug. 19 hearing in Prince George Provincial Court.
Ian Benjamin Clark pleaded guilty before Judge Martin Nadon to driving last Dec. 6 while disqualified under the Criminal Code.
Clark was just over a year into a three-year driving prohibition when he was captured on a surveillance camera leaving Real Canadian Superstore, entering an older-model Chevrolet pickup and driving away.
"When I look at your record, the first question that I ask myself is: how do we keep Mr. Clark from behind the wheel of a motor vehicle?" Nadon said to Clark. "Because when you're doing that, you're putting not only yourself at risk, but you're putting everybody else on the road at risk — and you're uninsured, as well."
Nadon agreed to the joint Crown and defence proposal for an 18-month conditional sentence order (CSO) and three-year driving ban.
"However, I want to warn you, sir, this may look like a gift, but this is an 18-month conditional sentence," Nadon said. "If you were to breach this order, you run the risk of a court saying that you'll spend the rest of the conditional sentence order in jail, on top of any other charges that might arise from that incident."
Earlier, Crown prosecutor Astitwa Thapa described Clark's record as "absolutely atrocious."
"He knew he was prohibited from driving and he then drove the vehicle," Thapa said.
Clark's record since 2012 includes two convictions for impaired driving, two for dangerous driving, two for flight from police, one for driving without due care and attention and eight for driving while prohibited or suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
"Mr. Clark's repeated driving offences pose a significant risk to the public," Thapa said. "The offence is serious because it is not a momentary lapse in judgment. It is a conscious decision to ignore court orders and place personal convenience above public safety."
However, he conceded that he came to the sentencing agreement with Clark's lawyer, Hewitt Kingston, because Clark was not arrested at the scene and the Crown's case hinged substantially on video footage that Thapa said was "not of optimal quality."
Kingston said his 1985-born client has struggled "quite immensely" with drug and alcohol addictions and is a caretaker for his grandfather, who is living with dementia.
"He advises for just about the last three months, he's been clean and sober," Kingston said. "Which, in my submission, presents a benefit when someone is being placed on a CSO."
