Seven months jail for driving offences

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on June 28, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Timothy James Clements knew he wasn’t supposed to be with Shannon Ferguson because of a judge’s no-contact order, so when police attempted to conduct a traffic stop in Taber on Nov. 20 of last year, he took off.

Police were responding to a complaint about a suspicious vehicle at a commercial property on 80 Avenue, and concerns the occupants of the vehicle may have taken some items from the property, from which about $20,000 worth of wire had recently been stolen.

Police spotted the vehicle on 64 Avenue, but when police activated their emergency lights, Clements sped off through a residential area reaching speeds between 80 km-h and 100 km-h. Police did not chase Clements for the safety of the public, but they observed Clements speed through a playground zone and blow through three stop signs before heading in the direction of Coaldale.

Coaldale RCMP were waiting for him and saw the vehicle after it had been involved in a hit and run. Clements and Ferguson were arrested, and Clements admitted he fled from Taber RCMP because he and Ferguson were bound by no-contact conditions.

Police also discovered Clements did not have a valid driver’s licence, and the vehicle did not have insurance or registration.

Clements pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge court of justice to charges of flight from police, dangerous driving, and driving without insurance. He was sentenced to seven months in jail and prohibited from driving for one year.

Clements also pleaded guilty to various unrelated charges of obstructing a peace officer by giving police a false name; theft under $5,000 for stealing a bottle of liquor; failure to attend court; failure to comply with a probation order that prohibited him from possessing a knife; breach of probation for failing to attend meetings with his probation officer; and three breaches for being with Ferguson in contravention of court orders.

In total, Clements was sentenced to eight months in jail, but given credit for the equivalent of about four and a half months spent in remand custody, leaving him with slightly less than three and a half months to serve.

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