BY KEITH LACEY
A local man caught driving while under a 10-year driving prohibition for repeated drunk driving offences has been banned from driving for life and will spend the next 20 weekends in jail.
Andre Landry, 51, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of driving while disqualified.
Court heard that in early May while on his way to work, Landry was pulled over by police, who quickly discovered he did not have a valid driver's license because he had been prohibited from driving for 10 years following a drunk driving conviction in 2002.
Defence counsel Ted Conroy said Landry has always been a hard working family man, but made a stupid decision the day in question and realizes he must pay a price.
Landry's only criminal record relates to several drunk driving convictions, said Conroy.
Since being arrested on the driving while disqualified charge, the Ministry of Transportation has sent a notice to Landry that he is banned from driving for the remainder of his life, said Conroy.
The existing 10-year prohibition remains and a doctor has also written a letter detailing why Landry should no longer operate a motor vehicle.
Landry knows he can never drive again and there will be dire consequences if he is ever caught again, said Conroy.
Because Landry works full-time to support his family, an intermittent sentence of 90 days, to be served on consecutive weekends starting this weekend, would be an appropriate sentence, said Conroy.
Justice William Fitzgerald agreed to the joint submission.
Because his drug record is so severe and stretches out over several years, a veteran Sudbury judge refused to accede to a proposal Wednesday to send a local man to jail for 90 days.
Instead, Justice William Fitzgerald said he wanted a probation officer to prepare a pre-sentence report for Kelvin Berard, 29, before deciding what the appropriate sentence should be.
Berard will return to court for sentencing Oct. 20.
Court heard Greater Sudbury Police executed a search warrant on March 11 and found a large stash of drugs, including the lethal street drugs Percoset and Ecstasy.
Police also found a prohibited knife in Berard's apartment and an illegal satellite television system and access card.
Berard also pleaded guilty to failing to notify police about any address change, possession of the knife and illegal satellite system and card.
Federal Crown prosecutor Natalie Boivin told the court Berard turned over five grams of marijuana before informing officers he had two small bags of pills. One of the bags contained eight Percoset pills and the other had about 30 Ecstasy pills, with a street value of about $840.
Defence counsel Alex Toffoli said without Berard's co-operation police likely would have had a very difficult time finding the pills because Berard had hidden them so well.
Another judge at a pre-trial conference was impressed Berard had found a full-time job and appeared sincere in his attempt to quit doing and dealing drugs, said Toffoli.
However, Fitzgerald said he couldn't accept the proposal to sentence Berard to jail for only 90 days, to be served on weekends, until a pre-sentence report is prepared.
?You have insisted on being involved in the drug culture for years and years...you have destroyed your life and those of others in the process,? he said.
Berard told the court he's been clean and sober for some time now and his girlfriend is pregnant and he wants to provide for his family.
Fitzgerald said he still wanted the pre-sentence report prepared before deciding what sentence is appropriate when Berard returns to court in late October.
