Man found passed out in vehicle jailed

Jamie Peter McKenna found in driver’s seat after injecting drugs, sentenced to 90 days on multiple charges

A P.E.I. man who was found passed out in his vehicle with a syringe on his leg after injecting hydromorphone was sentenced recently to 90 days in jail on several charges.

Jamie Peter McKenna appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown where he showed up late for a trial that ended up starting without him.

Once McKenna arrived, he changed his pleas to guilty to using stolen credit cards, two counts of having care and control of a vehicle while impaired by a drug and one count of failing to appear in court.

McKenna’s trial started without him after he failed to show up for court and didn’t give his lawyer instructions.

A Charlottetown police officer testified he found McKenna passed out in the driver’s seat in a gas station parking lot with a syringe on his leg, a spoon with white residue nearby and a rubber band around his arm.

The keys were in the vehicle’s ignition. While the officer was on the stand, McKenna arrived and after a brief recess he returned with his lawyer to plead guilty to all of the charges against him.

An agreed statement of facts read in court detailed the other offences, including a second incident involving McKenna having care and control of a vehicle while impaired.

In that case, Island EMS asked for police assistance before taking him to hospital.

The court also heard McKenna used credit card data to buy a watch online for more than $600.

McKenna also spent $430.92 on a different credit card that was accidentally left behind in the victim’s wallet at a grocery store.

Along with the jail time, which was a joint recommendation, McKenna will be on probation for 15 months.

He must pay a total of $1,039.27 in restitution and $600 in victim surcharges.

McKenna is banned from driving for two years.