SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - A Nail Pond man who struck a Summerside Police Services officer with a car has pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 840 days in jail.
Rogan Normie Hermie Hustler, 21, was facing a number of traffic, weapons and drug related charges, in addition to those involving the Summerside police officer, when he appeared in provincial court this week.
The charges included: possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking; assaulting a police officer; dangerous driving; operating a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug; possession of a prohibited weapon (brass knuckles); transporting a firearm (a .30-30 rifle) without taking reasonable precautions; three counts of possession of cocaine (twice) and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (commonly called ecstasy); failing to attend court as directed by a judge and resisting arrest.
All of the charges were from between February and May 2018, and took place in Summerside and Linkletter.
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Hustler received credit for the equivalent of 132 days already served since his arrest. Once he is released he will be subject to two years of probation, is prohibited from owning weapons for 10 years, is prohibited from driving for 24 months, must pay $1,400 in victim surcharges and more than $10,000 in restitution for damaged property to the City of Summerside and Wawanesa Mutual Insurance.
In his sentencing Judge Jeff Lantz said, situations caused by Hustler’s actions could have had much more serious consequences.
“The police officer was lucky he wasn’t seriously injured or he wasn’t killed. Mr. Hustler is lucky he wasn’t seriously injured or killed, himself,” said Lantz, adding it was in within the realm of possibility that the officers could have opened fire in self defence.
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Hustler’s legal-aid lawyer, Trish Cheverie, said that despite her client’s young age, he has already struggled with serious addictions and mental health issues for many years. She said he has been sober since he was remanded into custody and is hopeful of continuing his sobriety and rehabilitation treatments.
“My client indicates now that he has been sober for a considerable amount of time … he recognizes the seriousness of what he has done and he is deeply ashamed,” said Cheverie.
On April 5 in Linkletter, someone reported a suspicious car stopped half off the road and pointing in the wrong direction along Route 11. RCMP and Summerside Police officers responded and found Hustler partially conscious behind the wheel. An officer trained to recognize drug impairment later confirmed Hustler was indeed impaired.
Hustler later told police he did not remember who the car belonged to or how he got where he was.
Police later found the rifle in the car and a pair of brass knuckles on Hustler’s person.
On April 17, Summerside police officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle, which matched the description of a car that had fled police previously, parked at the Vogue Optical Plaza on Granville Street. Officers responded, weapons drawn, and blocked the suspect car with their own, but it smashed the police cruiser aside, briefly pinning an officer between the two cars, and sped away.
The officer was not seriously injured.
The car was found abandoned in Vernon Bridge.
Hustler was arrested in early May and has been in custody ever since.
