After being charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle, obstruction of a peace officer, breach of probation and breach of recognizance, a man tried by Ponoka provincial court has been sentenced to a total of 10 months of incarceration and a three-year ban from driving.
Louis Crookedlegs, 33, was sentenced before the court on Friday, Sept. 18 via closed circuit television. Crookedlegs pled guilty to the four counts he was charged with.
On Monday, Sept 22, 2014, RCMP received a report of a possible impaired driver near Morningside. The complainant said the motor vehicle almost sideswiped another.
As RCMP members responded to the call they received a second complaint regarding the same vehicle. Before they located the vehicle a third report was received, stating the vehicle in question had crashed and rolled.
Upon arrival, the RCMP saw Crookedlegs was the driver and he was combative and belligerent, alcohol could be smelled on his breath. The police also observed a knife in the vehicle.
Crookedlegs provided the RCMP with a false name and date of birth, but gave his real information to hospital medical staff.
Breath samples of .21 and .23 were provided and it was determined Crookedlegs was driving between 130 and 140 km/h.
Just before the incident, Crookedlegs was released from the Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury, where he had spent several months being treated for depression, suicidal disposition, posttraumatic stress disorder and a possible bipolar disorder.
Crookedlegs, an alcoholic for the last 15 years, grew up in an unstable home without a father, stated the defence counsel. He also lost his mother and two younger brothers within a short timeframe.
“I understand the challenges you’ve faced,” said Judge L. Grieve.
Crookedlegs told the court he did not start out as the driver that day and does not recall when he switched places with the original driver, who had picked him up from the Centennial Centre.
He also does not remember possessing a knife but it was decided in court that it had not been used dangerously during the incident. “I’m just glad nobody got hurt.”
The Crown felt, due to his high alcohol level and dangerous and prolonged actions, Crookedlegs’ sentence should be more severe than normally required for such actions. There are more than 70 convictions on his criminal record.
“There are some people who say you’re going to hurt somebody. So why should we wait before you kill somebody?” Grieve asked Crookedlegs.
“You’re an unbelievable danger Mr. Crookedlegs and you should be separated from society,” he added.
Four months of incarceration Crookedlegs received as part of his sentence is for breach of probation and two months for each count of breach of recognizance. He has been ordered to serve these terms consecutively.