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(File photo/ paNOW Staff)
Court proceedings

Man who hit two cop cars while evading police receives 12-month sentence

Oct 5, 2022 | 2:00 PM

A man responsible for ramming two police vehicles, while trying to escape arrest, has received 12 months of jail time.

Colton Lafond, 33, appeared by video Wednesday at Prince Albert Provincial Court and entered guilty pleas related to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and operating a vehicle while prohibited.

The incident dates back to March 11, 2021.

According to the statement of facts read in court by Crown Prosecutor Doug Howell, police had surveilled Lafond on suspicion he was involved in drug trafficking and he had a number of arrest warrants.

A red truck was followed from the City’s Cornerstone area to a farm near Crystal Springs and then back to a parking lot near Bailey’s Bar in Prince Albert, where police attempted to stop the vehicle and conduct a search. Instead, the red truck driven by Lafond took off, hitting one police vehicle in the process.

In an adjacent parking lot, police tried once again to surround the vehicle to no avail, as Lafond rammed a second vehicle while fleeing.

The truck would cross into the grassy area south of Prime Ministers’ Park and get stuck. At this point, the three occupants of the truck ran off on foot towards the Rotary Trail. The K-9 unit was called in and Lafond was arrested soon after.

Howell explained Lafond’s record dates back to 2005 and includes two impaired driving offences, one break-and-enter, as well as assault with a weapon. He’s been in custody for over 600 days, and so will be released Wednesday.

He has indicated plans to go up north and live with family. Judge S. Schiefner encouraged him to return to work and avoid the people he had been hanging around with while in the city, cautioning him those relationships would bring him back to court.

In addition to the jail sentence, Lafond will be prohibited from driving for a period of five years, and he also has a new order, prohibited from owning or possessing any weapons for life.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell