E-bike rider sentenced to 6 months

A man who used an electronic bicycle to try to zip around the conditions of a licence prohibition has been ordered to serve six months in jail, pay $300 in fines and not operate a motor vehicle for another 18 months.

Michel Joseph Pierre Magny, 50, was sentenced Monday in provincial court in Penticton after pleading guilty to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a police officer and two counts of driving while prohibited.

Court heard that while he was already bound by a court order not to operate a vehicle, Magny was pulled over by police in Cawston on Jan. 22, 2016, because the 2007 Cougar electric bicycle he was riding was missing its factory-supplied pedals.

“In my understanding in order to operate it properly, you need the manufacturer’s pedals and it didn’t have those,” said Crown counsel John Swanson.

Magny told police he was aware of that restriction, but the pedals had been falling off and he stored them in a back compartment in order to make sure he didn’t lose them.

He was previously convicted for driving while prohibited in 2010 and 2015, something Swanson drew the court’s attention to.

“He does have a significant record,” said Swanson. “Obviously a jail sentence is appropriate on the matter. We’re looking at kind of a step up.”

Defence Lawyer James Pennington said Magny purchased the bike because he needed to get around but didn’t want to breach his prohibitions from an October 2016 conviction.

“He acquired the e-bike in the hopes of being able to get around without running afoul of the law again,” Pennington said. “He did make an honest effort to try and fix his mobility problems and as luck would have it (police were) hot on the scene.” Magny said he has learned his lesson. “I didn’t touch a steering wheel since that incident,” he told Greg Koturbash. “I really wanted to get everything out of the way.”

Magny asked to be fitted with an ankle monitor so that he could work throughout the summer, but Koturbash decided that wouldn’t be enough.

“I agree with the crown that there needs to be a step up,” said the judge, “although I do recognize you were trying to at least comply with the law in some way, riding a bike as opposed to a car.”