CORNER BROOK — The teenager who was charged with impaired driving after a stolen car was found ditched on the Trans-Canada Highway this past weekend has pleaded guilty to nine of the 10 charges against him.
The 16-year-old, who has been in custody since his arrest early Saturday morning, has been remanded into custody at least until his sentencing hearing.
A pre-sentence report has been ordered to give the court a better understanding of the youth’s circumstances prior to sentencing him and a facts and sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 30.
The teen entered the nine guilty pleas when he appeared in court in Corner Brook for what had initially been scheduled to be a bail hearing Wednesday morning. The 10th charge, namely theft over $5,000 in relation to the stolen 2009 Toyota Camry, was withdrawn by the Crown.
He pleaded guilty to impaired driving, dangerous driving, trespassing at night, illegal possession of alcohol and five breaches of court orders related to a probation sentence he was given for unrelated offences this past summer.
The most recent charges were filed after police were called to the scene where the Camry had been abandoned in a ditch in the Riverside Drive area of the highway. The car, according to police, was reported stolen from West Valley Road in Corner Brook and a second vehicle in the driveway from where the Camry was taken was allegedly damaged during the theft.
The police investigation indicated the Camry had been driven in an eastbound direction in the westbound lane of the divided Trans-Canada Highway prior to ending up in the ditch.
Police also detected blood inside the car. The youth, who was not at the scene of the ditched car when police arrived, appeared to have had a busted lip when he was in court earlier this week.
He was one of two 16-year-old boys arrested in relation to this matter. The second teen, who was released to the custody of his parents, will appear in court later on charges of possession of property obtained by crime and trespassing at night.
