Melfort Provincial Court. (File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Police Pursuit Sentence

Beatty man given conditional sentence, two-year driving prohibition following police pursuit

Jan 15, 2020 | 8:53 AM

A 24-year-old man from Beatty, Sask. pled guilty to numerous charges related a police pursuit.

Justin Umperville was given a one-year concurrent conditional sentence and two-year driving prohibition, along with $1,300 in surcharges, by Judge Lloyd Stang in Melfort Provincial Court on Tuesday, Jan. 13. He pled guilty to possession of stolen property, motor vehicle theft, impaired driving, mischief to property, flight from police, and driving while prohibited.

The charges stem from an incident in June 2019 when the RCMP received no less than four calls of a dangerous driver in the east end of Melfort knocking over street signs.

Officers located the vehicle speeding and attempted a traffic stop before it sped onto Highway 3 toward Prince Albert where it was seen driving at 150 km/h. Other officers joined the pursuit and the vehicle became useless after driving into a field. Umperville was arrested without incident.

Trent Forsyth, Umperville’s defence lawyer, was satisfied with the ruling.

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“It was something we were able to work out with the Crown,” Forsyth told northeastNOW outside of court. “It seemed to reflect the seriousness of the offence yet give Justin the opportunity to maintain his employment.”

Umperville has maintained consistent employment at a gold mine for over three years. He was released on bail nine days following his arrest so he could work and attend a treatment program for addiction. He attended a rehabilitation clinic in mid-September.

Conditions for Umperville’s non-jail sentence include a curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and stay in Saskatchewan – unless he receives permission from his probation officer to do both. He must provide breath samples to police officers when requested and continue to attend treatment programs for his addiction. He cannot possess or consume alcohol, cannabis, or drugs, unless prescribed by a physician.

Stang said in court he hopes to see Umperville continue his efforts towards seeking help for his addiction and that he takes the conditions handed out seriously.

“Given the seriousness of these offences… you should consider yourself very fortunate you’re not going to actual jail,” Stang told Umperville in court. “The driving that was going on is extremely dangerous to the public. It is fortunate the only damage was just road signs and not to people being injured or killed. That includes you.

“This is meant to be a jail sentence in the community. The condition that resembles jail the most is the curfew. Often [house arrested people] don’t go anywhere. But given the length of your order, you’ve been given a curfew rather a full house arrest. The judges in this area don’t hesitate to terminate if you breach. You risk serving the rest of it in jail; real jail. There goes your job and a whole lot of things you’ve got going for you.”

Umperville said in court he apologizes to anyone who was affected by the damage he caused the night of the pursuit and he’s aware and willing to accept the consequences.

When asked if he typically sees other accused people with Umperville’s charges receive a similar sentence, Forsyth said it all depends on the circumstances on the offender.

“Because Mr. Umperville had been steadily employed, it was decided that it made sense a conditional sentence be imposed, as opposed to actual jail,” he said. “As a trade off for that, the sentence that was imposed on the conditional basis was longer than it would have been had he been sentenced to actual jail.”

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow