A man caught drunk behind the wheel for the fourth time managed to avoid a jail sentence Wednesday.
Paul Lafleur, 50, will spend three months under house arrest and is prohibited from driving for three years.
Court heard Lafleur is suffering from cancer and his wife also has serious health problems.
He was observed by a citizen driving erratically in the Gatchell area of the city the evening of Oct. 5.
A concerned citizen phoned police. An officer observed some erratic driving before the driver pulled into the parking lot near the Four Corners.
The officer approached the driver of the vehicle and immediately noticed a strong odour of alcohol, as well as red eyes and slurred speech.
Lafleur told the officer more than once he had only had one bottle of beer to drink.
At the police station Lafleur refused to provide a breath sample. At one point, he became belligerent and aggressive towards an officer, Lafleur said.
Lafleur was eventually charged with failing to provide a breath sample, which carries the same penalties under Canadian law as an impaired driving or blowing over the legal limit conviction.
Defence counsel Robert Beckett said his client had been drinking, the night in question, but was also under the influence of prescription drugs.
Lafleur had a cancerous tumour in his back and was on 10 different medications to control the pain the night he was arrested, said Beckett.
Lafleur?s wife also suffers from a myriad of physical ailments. He is her only caregiver and also does all the family chores.
Lafleur has three previous drunk driving convictions, including one 30 years ago and two in the early 1990s.
Justice Yvon Renaud said the fact this accused has stopped drinking is important as is the fact he sold his vehicle soon after this latest arrest.
