Hit and run drunk driver gets year in jail
With three impaired driving convictions since June, man banned from driving for nine years
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, March 5, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A man convicted of three drunk driving charges since June, culminating in a dangerous hit and run on Franklin Avenue in January, has been sentenced to a year in jail and banned from driving for nine years.
Jack Gabriel Walker, 32, appeared in territorial court on Thursday to receive his sentence.
According to a statement of facts read to the court, Walker was picked up for impaired driving on July 18, just days after he was released from jail on probation for another impaired driving conviction.
RCMP noted Walker was co-operative and polite following his July 18 arrest. He was then released with a promise to appear in court.
But Walker was unable to stay out of trouble during his release. On Sept. 17, he failed to show up for his first court date and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Two months later he was arrested on charges of breaching his probation for consuming alcohol and being involved in a domestic altercation.
Then on Jan. 14, while on bail conditions, Walker drove drunk and slammed into a vehicle at Franklin Avenue and Forrest Drive, fleeing the scene afterwards.
A passenger in the other vehicle suffered whiplash because of the incident, Crown attorney Jennifer Mickelson told the court.
Walker was caught thanks to a concerned citizen who witnessed the collision and followed Walker's vehicle after he drove off. When RCMP arrested Walker they gave him a breathalyzer test where he blew more than two and a half times the legal limit. Two separate tests showed Walker had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20 and 0.21 per cent - the legal limit is 0.08.
In total, Walker now has four convictions for impaired driving on his record.
Mickelson said Walker has "endangered lives repeatedly" by driving while intoxicated. She filed an intention to seek greater punishment for Walker, asking the courts to impose a 12 to 15 month in jail-term followed by an eight-year driving prohibition.
Tracy Bock, Walker's defence lawyer, said his client has struggled with alcohol addiction. He noted Walker has been taking part in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings once every two weeks during his time at the North Slave Correctional Centre.
Bock asked the courts for a lighter sentence - 10 to 12 months in jail followed by a five year driving prohibition.
Walker apologized to the court on Thursday before his sentence, saying he wants to take part in addictions counselling.
He added he knew things could have turned out "much worse" in the latest two incidents.
Judge Bernadette Schmaltz said she was "somewhat sympathetic" with Walker's addiction, but added "nobody's addicted to driving."
In addition to his impaired driving convictions, Walker was sentenced for driving while disqualified twice, breaching his probation on two separate occasions, failing to attend court and leaving the scene of an accident. He incurred $400 in victim of crime surcharges, but traded the fine for an extra five days in jail.
Schmaltz deducted 69 days off Walker's sentence - or time plus one half - for the 46 days he was jailed since his arrest on Jan. 14.
For his July and January impaired driving incidents, Schmaltz ordered Walker be banned from driving for seven years, which will run consecutive to a two-year prohibition he received in June for a previous impaired driving conviction.
