A St. Albert man was handed a $2,000 fine in place of jail time for assaulting his girlfriend.
Raymond R. Harris, 35, pleaded guilty in St. Albert Provincial Court Monday to assaulting his then-girlfriend at the end of October.
An argument ensued after Harris received an early morning text that his partner of five months thought was from an ex partner. In response to her questions about the text, Harris began pushing her, throwing her around and kicking her.
“He kept kicking her telling her to get up and get out of the house,” said Crown prosecutor Scott Pittman, adding the woman tried to leave and was stopped by Harris.
Pittman was seeking a 90-day jail sentence with another 18 months probation.
His lawyer was instead seeking a fine coupled with probation. He told the court the incident was a “one off,” adding his client has no prior criminal record.
“This isn’t a great deal of injuries. There are some bruises on her arm,” he said. “It’s regrettable and he regrets it.”
Judge Bruce Garriock said it was aggravating that the incident involved “not one physical act, but a series of physical acts.”
On top of the fine, Harris was handed one year of probation and is ordered to take counselling with a particular focus on anger management.
A drunk driver was nabbed by police after he failed to turn on his headlights.
Robert Cody Graves pleaded guilty to having a blood-alcohol concentration over the legal limit and was handed a $1,800 fine and one-year driving prohibition.
Police pulled over Graves’ vehicle May 27, 2011 because it was travelling at high speeds without headlights. When officers requested his licence and registration, they observed signs of impairment, Pittman said.
Breathalyser readings showed Graves had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.190, more than double the legal limit. This was his second impaired-driving related offence, with the first in March 2006.
Pittman withdrew additional charges for impaired operation of a motor vehicle and three traffic tickets for operating an unregistered vehicle, transporting liquor and failing to have activated headlights.
Francis Paul Herlihey, 28, was drunk when he went to pick up an intoxicated friend from the bar.
“He was contacted by a friend who had been drinking … turns out he shouldn’t have been driving himself,” said lawyer Chris Taskey.
Police officers responded to an erratic driving call shortly after midnight Nov. 25. When they pulled the vehicle over, officers noticed signs of impairment from the driver.
A breathalyser proved he had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.150, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08.
Herlihey was handed a $1,000 fine and is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle for one year.
Pittman withdrew an additional charge for impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
