Repeat offender sentenced to jail

Kevin Michael Ryan given 90 days in jail for two drunk driving charges committed fewer than two weeks apart

A man who was found in his vehicle with a pint bottle in his hand was sentenced recently to 90 days in jail for two drunk driving charges committed within about a week of each other.

Kevin Michael Ryan, 49, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown where he pleaded guilty to the two drunk driving charges.

The court heard that on March 3 the RCMP pulled Ryan over after responding to a call about an erratic driver in Cornwall.

A liquor bottle was visible on the seat next to Ryan.

He later provided breathalyzer samples that were more than 1.5 times the legal limit.

On March 11, the RCMP responded to a call at around 2 p.m. about a suspicious man parked on the side of the road in the St. Peters area.

The officer found Ryan in his vehicle leaning over the centre console with a pint bottle of liquor in his hand.

Ryan later provided breathalyzer samples that were around three times the legal limit.

The court heard Ryan had a dated record with an impaired driving charge in 1993 and another conviction for impaired driving causing bodily harm in 1999.

Defence lawyer Scott Barry said Ryan described himself as a “chronic” addict. Barry said Ryan accepted a drink at a social event recently after a long period of sobriety and things escalated from there.

That escalation came after years of success dealing with his addiction, Barry said.

The court heard Ryan was working on a master’s degree related to counselling.

Barry said with his client’s life experience and education he felt he could help people in similar situations.

Along with the jail time, which he will serve on weekends, Ryan must pay $2,500 in fines and $750 in victim surcharges.

He is banned from driving for two years.

A 30-year-old man was sentenced to 90 days in jail for possession of stolen property from the Mount Stewart area and for stealing a drill from Most Wanted in Charlottetown.

Andrew Carter Affleck of Mount Stewart appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr recently for sentencing.

The court heard that Affleck stole a Milwaukee drill from Most Wanted in January 2016 by placing it down the front of his pants before leaving the store.

When staff looked at the video surveillance, they were able to immediately identify Affleck.

Affleck originally pleaded not guilty. He was awaiting trial when he was found to be in possession of several pieces of stolen property in November 2016 including three residential windows and two meter saws.

Affleck told the court that the stolen items were unloaded at the end of his driveway.

Orr said this was “poor timing” on Affleck’s part given the numerous break and entries and thefts that were going on in the community of Mount Stewart at the time.

“It’s really amazing to think that you had that kind of luck that somebody would break into a place, steal the items and then drop them at your driveway so you would be able to sell them,” said Orr.

“When a person is in possession of stolen property that is so hot that you can still see the steam coming off it because the break and enter or the theft has just occurred, you are going to have a great deal of scrutiny.”

Orr said Affleck is going to make some amends in his community since it is the perception that he was a big part of the problem that the community was experiencing last year.

“I’m only going to deal with what you plead guilty to, but obviously there is a perception that you are going to have to work through in order to overcome that perception,” said Orr.

“Your time to find things at the end of your driveway that you then sold, it certainly is poor timing on your part, and it would be certainly understandable that some of the victims in this particular matter would be attributing all of the harm that was going on in the community to you.”

Affleck does have a criminal record, including a number of property-related offences.

In addition to his 90-day sentence, he received two years probation and has to pay $400 in victim surcharges and a restitution amount of $139.99 to Most Wanted.

Affleck also has to write an apology letter to the victims, is banned from the property of the victims and must complete 150 hours of community service work.