Other guilty pleas accompany Canada Day carjacking withdrawal

A carjacking charge was dropped, while other guilty pleas were entered Wednesday by a B.C. man who drove dangerously along the Trans-Canada Highway on Canada Day in 2016.

“It’s probably only by the gift of God that no one was hurt,” said Judge Ted Fisher, at the sentencing for 53-year-old Daniel Joseph Landry, who pled guilty to assault, assaulting a police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop at the scene of an accident at the Medicine Hat Courthouse.

The first year of the sentence will be served under house arrest, while the second will be served with a curfew, and he will have a one-year driving prohibition.

Delays in the case occurred as the accused sought assessment on whether he could be considered criminally responsible for his actions.

The assessments said he didn’t qualify for this defence, although both Crown and defence counsel highlighted how mental health played a part in his actions.

Landry is bipolar, said counsel Sara Lewans, and was likely going through a manic episode at the time of the incident — in late June he had stopped taking his medication and decided he needed to go to Ottawa, so drove all night there and was on his way back to B.C., and hadn’t slept for several days.

He had also been put on new medication that could have added to the episode, she said.

Landry was “clearly under mental distress at the time this occurred,” the Crown said, although it was somewhat self-induced.

Since the incident, Landry has been seeing a doctor, is back on medication and following treatment — with defence saying he has had some insight into his actions.

“I think it’s notably gone well,” said the Crown, adding it didn’t want a sentence that would derail treatment. The accused has no criminal record.

According to the agreed statement of facts, on July 1, 2016, Landry was driving westbound along the TransCanada Highway near Redcliff.

Witnesses described his driving as “erratic and stupid,” as he was driving “well above” the speed limit, weaving in and out between vehicles, onto the grass and median, and narrowly avoiding collisions — that is, until he sideswiped a vehicle and kept on driving. One estimated speed from police was 163 kilometres in a 110 km zone.

Redcliff RCMP initiated an attempt to pull him over — but he continued driving at a high rate of speed, along the shoulder. He swerved toward a vehicle forcing it onto the side of the road. He got out of his car and went to the other vehicle, opening the driver’s side door, grabbing the driver and trying to get their seatbelt undone while ordering the driver out.

An RCMP officer arrived and attempted to arrest Landry, and a struggle ensued with Landry at one point grabbing at the officer’s holster as he attempted to escape, and punching the officer in the thigh. He was eventually pinned to the ground with the help of bystanders, handcuffed and put into the police vehicle.