By Taylor MacPherson

La Loche man locked up for fleeing police

Jul 19, 2017 | 2:00 PM

A man who made two ill-fated attempts to run from police won’t be going anywhere in a hurry after a judge handed him two six-month sentences this morning.

Dency Mark Herman, a 23-year-old resident of La Loche, was sentenced this morning after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and other criminal charges. Senior Crown Prosecutor Cynthia Alexander said Herman was arrested twice in the month of May after trying to avoid the law on two separate occasions.

In the first incident, which occurred May 7, Alexander said Prince Albert Police attempted to perform a traffic stop on a grey Pontiac driven by Herman after a licence plate check revealed the vehicle was registered to a woman. The officer followed Herman’s vehicle until he stopped in the parking lot of the Gateway Mall, but when the officer approached the car on foot Herman sped off.

Alexander said Herman continued to flee until he ran a red light at the intersection of Second Ave. W. and 12th St. W. At that point, she said, the pursuit was called off for safety reasons due to the high volume of lunch-hour traffic on the roads. Instead of chasing the vehicle, officers simply went to the home of the registered owner where Herman was found and arrested. The young man had drug paraphernalia on him at the time of his arrest, Alexander said, and he had not held a valid driver’s licence for five years.

Herman was released, Alexander said, but just five days later he was back on the road trying to outrun police.

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On May 12, Alexander said Green Lake RCMP received a report of a vehicle which was “all over the road” while going through a construction site. When RCMP intercepted him and attempted to perform a traffic stop, Herman took off at high speed.

Alexander said RCMP decided not to pursue because of their close proximity to the village, but they received a report of a nearby rollover just minutes later. When police arrived on the scene of the accident the suspect car was on its side in the ditch. Herman attempted to jump into a running truck when he spotted police, but was pulled out and arrested.

Defence lawyer Blaine Beaven said Herman has been working to turn his life around after a childhood marked by drug use and gang involvement. Beaven asked the judge for a five-month conditional sentence order, which would give Herman an opportunity to show he could follow conditions in the community. Alexander, noting the public danger caused by the pursuits, argued for six months in custody.

“I’m not willing to take that chance that you’ll follow conditions,” Judge Stephen Carter told Herman, and handed him two concurrent six-month sentences.

Herman was given credit for the time he has already spent on remand awaiting his sentencing, meaning he will likely serve less than three months of his new sentence.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews