CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A P.E.I. man who was under a driving prohibition from Manitoba was sentenced recently to 90 days in jail after refusing to give the police breath samples.
Robert Gordon Dennis, 39, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown where he pleaded guilty to failing to give a breath sample and driving while prohibited.
Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald told the court that on June 26 at around 10:20 p.m., the RCMP responded to a 911 call from a woman who said Dennis was heading to the Irving in Hunter River and was impaired.
When the police found Dennis, they tried to pull him over, but he kept driving before eventually turning into a driveway.
MacDonald said Dennis got out of his vehicle and continued toward the residence before an officer stopped him.
The RCMP took Dennis to the Maypoint detachment and gave him multiple chances to give a breath sample.
He refused.
Dennis was still under a one-year driving prohibition from Manitoba from October 2018 and the court heard he had three prior drunk-driving related convictions.
Before hearing his sentence, Dennis addressed the court to say he struggles with alcohol issues and has been going to the provincial addiction treatment centre for a few hours every day.
“I wish I had done it a long time ago,” he said.
Along with the jail time, which Dennis will serve on weekends, he must pay a $2,000 fine and will be under a two-year driving prohibition.
He will also be on probation for 18 months, during which time he is banned from driving any motorized vehicles.
