Van chase leads to jail time

A Cardigan man who was accused of chasing another vehicle and running it into a guardrail with his van was sentenced Monday to 20 days in jail for refusing to provide police with a proper breath sample.

Brandon Jason Quinn, 18, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown where he pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath sample for an approved screening device.

The Crown stayed a dangerous driving charge, but read the facts into the record.

Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald told the court that on April 30 around 1:50 a.m. the RCMP received a complaint of a man being chased by a van driving at a high speed.

The complainant reported that the van had already forced his vehicle into a guardrail.

When the police first saw the complainant’s vehicle it was going 120 km/h. After he pulled over, the driver ran to police with his hands over his head.

The police pulled the van over soon after, and after suspecting Quinn had been drinking, an officer demanded he provide a breath sample for the roadside screening device.

Quinn’s first sample wasn’t adequate, and the court heard he became belligerent, eventually giving several more inadequate samples before his arrest.

He still had a graduated driver’s licence at the time.

Quinn told police he was travelling to his aunt’s house and the complainant’s vehicle happened to be in front of his.

The court heard Quinn also told police the complainant’s vehicle braked suddenly causing a collision.

MacDonald said the evidence wasn’t consistent with that version of events.

Along with the jail time, which Quinn will serve on weekends, Orr fined him $1,000 and ordered him to pay a $300 victim surcharge.

Quinn is also banned from driving for two years.