Corner Brook -
Blaine Stanely Pardy of Wild Cove was recently handed nine months in prison for fleeing from police on a snowmobile and other offences.
Pardy, 24, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while prohibited to operate a motor vehicle, flight from police, and failure to report to the RCMP in accordance with the Identification of Criminals Act in relation to his arrest near the community of Wild Cove on the Baie Verte Peninsula last Jan. 31.
A pre-sentence report prepared for the court indicated Pardy was told doing community service could be an alternative to being incarcerated for his offences, but that he expressed no interest in completing any community service work without being paid and would not adhere to performing such work even if ordered to do so by the court.
Considering he has prior convictions and a history of not obeying court orders, Judge Wayne Gorman did not think Pardy was a suitable candidate for community service, and agreed with Crown attorney Darrell Coombs' submission of nine months in jail.
Coombs' argument also hinged on the offences themselves. Pardy fled when a a police vehicle approached him and another snowmobiler parked by the side of the road in the Wild Cove area. The police chased Pardy - who was driving at a high rate of speed, the court heard - through the town's main street as he drove his machine from one side of the street to the other until he entered a woods road.
The police later located the snowmobile at Pardy's residence. At the time of the offence, he was subject to a court order issued June 11, 2008, prohibiting him from operating any motor vehicle after an impaired driving conviction.
During the sentencing hearing, Pardy's lawyer, Peter Chaffey told Gorman his client had failed to report to the police station because he was uncertain of the date since he had torn up the summons as the police were attempting to explain its contents to him.
Chaffey argued for a conditional period of imprisonment of three to six months or, if a period of incarceration was required, that it be of such a length to allow it to be served on an intermittent basis.
"I do not believe that Mr. Pardy will comply with conditions contained in a conditional sentence order," Gorman said in his written decision. "I have reached this conclusion because he breached the driving prohibition referred to earlier; because of his failure to properly report while bound by a probation order; and because of his indication to the author of the pre-sentence report that he will only comply with conditions of his liking ... Mr. Pardy's actions constituted a significant danger to the public and the police officers attempting to apprehend him. A conditional period of imprisonment would fail to adequately reflect the seriousness of the offences committed by Mr. Pardy."
