CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A P.E.I. man who twice refused to give breath samples to police and ripped a light out of the back of an RCMP vehicle was sentenced recently to 60 days in jail.
Adam Gregory MacDonald, 31, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to resisting arrest and two counts of refusing to provide a breath sample.
The court heard that on Oct. 19, 2018, an RCMP officer in Vernon River pulled over a truck they saw approaching at a high speed.
That officer suspected MacDonald might have had alcohol in his system, so they demanded a breath sample for a roadside screening device.
MacDonald refused to provide one despite the officer giving him several chances.
He eventually agreed after the officer started taking photos of his truck but twice gave insufficient samples.
Arrested again
On May 11, the RCMP arrested MacDonald again after he pulled up to a check stop in Orwell and an officer smelled liquor.
The court heard MacDonald became belligerent and demanded a witness be present for him to give a breath sample.
As the officers were arresting MacDonald, he ran off into a wooded area nearby.
When two officers yelled for him to stop or they would get the police dog, MacDonald came back.
MacDonald repeatedly told the police he would give blood instead of a breath sample, but that was not an option.
The court heard that as the RCMP were taking MacDonald to the detachment in Montague he tore out a light in the police vehicle’s backseat.
Before sentencing MacDonald, Orr said he was on probation for other matters at the time of the offences.
Orr also noted MacDonald committed the second offence while awaiting trial on the first.
Along with the jail time, which he will serve intermittently, MacDonald is banned from driving for two years and must pay a $2,000 fine along with $322 in restitution for the damaged light.
MacDonald will be on probation for 18 months, during which time he must perform 120 hours of community service or pay $10 per hour not completed to the Queens County Addiction Centre.
