By paNOW

P.A. man convicted in October police chase

Jan 25, 2017 | 7:00 AM

A provincial court judge found a Prince Albert man guilty of dangerous driving and fleeing police during a high-speed car chase which occurred late last year.

Cody Wiegers-McDougald, 25, was found guilty this afternoon following a brief trial.

Three police constables and a civilian witness gave evidence for the Crown.

The officers confirmed they attempted to perform a traffic stop on Wiegers-McDougald at approximately 9 p.m. Oct. 8 based on a tip he was driving without a valid license. Court heard when the driver fled, the officers pursued under lights and sirens. The chase reached speeds in excess of 130km/h on icy streets.

Eventually, the officers testified, the chase left the city on Highway 3 and they were ordered to call off their pursuit near Muskoday First Nation.

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None of the officers were able to identify Wiegers-McDougald as the driver of the green pickup they were pursuing.

The fourth Crown witness was able to identify the accused. He said he knew Wiegers-McDougald as a tenant at his in-laws’ farm, and called in the tip to police. The witness said he knew Wiegers-McDougald did not have a valid license when he spotted him getting into a truck at a 15th St. business.

The man testified he briefly followed Wiegers-McDougald’s vehicle while communicating with police, and at one point they stopped next to each other at a red light, giving him a clear view. When police arrived, he said he backed off to let them pursue.

Senior Crown Prosecutor John Morrall also presented police dashboard camera footage of the chase as evidence. Although the video did not clearly show Wiegers-McDougald’s vehicle, Judge Earl Kalenith said it clearly demonstrated the speeds the chase reached and indicated the driver was obviously evading police by jumping a meridian.

Defense lawyer Terra Lennox-Zepp did not introduce any evidence during the trial, and instead argued the Crown failed to prove the identity of the driver. She said the witness who identified Wiegers-McDougald had never personally met her client.

“The evidence provided by the Crown simply does not make out identity beyond a reasonable doubt,” Lennox-Zepp said in her closing argument.

After a brief deliberation, Kalenith found Wiegers-McDougald guilty.

Kalenith said the identification by the civilian witness was satisfactory as a landlord would reasonably be able to identify a known tenant, and no evidence introduced created any doubt in his identification.

“The only issue in this case is identification,” Kalenith said in his decision. “I find the Crown has proven identity beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Wiegers-McDougald will be back in court for sentencing Jan. 30.

Taylor MacPherson is paNOW’s court reporter and weekend editor. He can be reached at Taylor.MacPherson@jpbg.ca or tweet him @tmacphersonnews.