A man was handed a hefty fine after pleading guilty to an impaired driving related conviction, the second in the last five years.
Derrick Douglas Smith pleaded guilty to driving while over the legal blood alcohol limit in court Monday.
On March 10, Edmonton police received a call of a possible impaired driver travelling eastbound on the Anthony Henday around 4:45 a.m. Officers followed the truck as it veered into oncoming traffic and eventually drove into a snowbank on Ray Gibbon Drive in St. Albert.
When officers pulled the truck over, they noted the driver – later identified as Smith – wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, had bloodshot eyes and made slow movements.
Smith provided two breath samples, the lowest reading 130 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal blood alcohol limit is 80 milligrams.
Court heard that back in 2011, the 28-year-old pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath sample and received a $1,000 fine and was banned from driving for one year.
Taking his past conviction into account, Judge B.H. Fraser handed Smith a larger-than-normal fine of $1,700 plus a $50 victim fine surcharge and a one-year driving prohibition. He will be eligible for the Ignition Interlock program after six months.
A woman that was driving around the Campbell Business Park with a suspended license last week has been released from jail.
Wendy Rose Hallam appeared in court via closed-circuit television at the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC) and pleaded guilty to driving while unauthorized.
On Sept. 19 RCMP officers pulled her over after noticing a suspicious vehicle travelling on Poundmaker Road just after midnight. Hallam said her license was suspended for non-criminal reasons and is eligible to be reinstated.
Fraser gave the 43-year-old credit for time served at the ERC and handed down a $500 fine.
