Alcohol addiction costs man jail term
Osoyoos man’s offences include driving tractor through town while drunk
In what sounds like a line out of a bad country song, an Osoyoos man who admitted to being drunk at the wheel of a tractor has been sentenced to 10 1/2 months in jail for that offence and three more.
Harjevan Singh Gill, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of impaired driving, driving while prohibited and breach of probation, and was sentenced Monday in provincial court in Penticton.
Gill was caught with the tractor in downtown Osoyoos on June 22, 2016, after a member of the public called police to report concerns about his driving.
“According to the report, the male had gone into a Subway restaurant in Osoyoos to order a sandwich and could barely stand,” Crown counsel Andrew Vandersluys told the court.
While en route to the scene, an RCMP officer was flagged down by two passersby, one of whom stated “he and his wife had nearly been hit by a drunk driving a green tractor,” Vandersluys continued.
Gill was arrested again on Nov. 23, 2016, after multiple reports of him driving dangerously while behind the wheel of a pickup en route to Osoyoos from Penticton.
One witness told police Gill passed him doing approximately 130 km/h in an 80 km/h zone while struggling to maintain his lane.
“Police attempted to stop the vehicle. However, Mr. Gill decided to accelerate the vehicle, making a high-risk pass across a double solid line, and did not stop for police,” said Vandersluys.
Mounties called off the chase for safety reasons and arrested Gill later.
Court heard Gill’s breach of probation charge arose in 2014, after he failed to attend treatment for alcohol addiction as required by a court order.
Defence counsel Michael Patterson said his client’s problem with booze is the “driving force” behind all of his legal problems.
“It permeates right throughout all the offences that have brought Mr. Gill to the court previously,” added Patterson.
Gill stood up in court and apologized for this crimes: “I’m truly sorry for my actions and I understand these actions could have resulted in the loss of my life or, even worse, the loss of an innocent person’s or family’s life.”
He went on to explain that, once released from jail, he intends to work on his family’s orchard and attend AA meetings and counselling sessions for his alcohol addiction.
“Sir, talk is real cheap,” replied Judge Gale Sinclair.
“You were not only a danger to yourself, but you were a danger to every other person on the highway or on the streets.”
With credit for time served, Gill has 159 days left on his sentence, which will be followed by two years’ probation. His driver’s licence also was suspended for three years, and he was ordered to pay a $500 fine.