Mechanic gets five months

Sentencing over fake safety certificate for pickup truck that killed Abigail MacNaughton on County Rd. 4 in 2012

The Stouffville mechanic who issued a fake safety certificate for an unsafe truck that was involved in a fatal collision in 2012 was sentenced to five months in jail Thursday.

Joseph Ramono was found guilty of uttering a forged document by a jury in Peterborough on June 30.

He was also charged with criminal negligence causing death, but the jury found him not guilty on that charge.

Ramono, 53, issued a safety certificate for a 1995 Dodge Ram owned by Lakefield resident William (Billy) Towns.

On Aug. 3, 2012, a month after Ramono issued the document, Towns lost control of his truck, colliding head-on with a car on County Road 4 near Douro in Douro-Dummer Township. There was defect in the truck’s steering.

The driver of the car, 27-year-old Abigail MacNaughton, was airlifted to a Toronto hospital. The Keene native died of her injuries the next day.

Towns was charged with dangerous driving causing death and uttering a forged document. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in jail and a 10-year driving prohibition.

Romano received a five-month jail sentence, two years of probation and 48 hours of community service.

Before the judge delivered his decision, Ramono’s lawyer, Glen Orr, spoke on his client’s behalf. Orr said Ramono was “remorseful for the whole thing.”

Justice Stephen Bale pointed out Ramono’s long list of previous convictions for uttering forged documents, dating back to 2003.

The Scarborough resident had also been charged with fraud when he was caught selling a pre-signed safety certificate booklet to a garage in Toronto, court heard.

Ramono is the owner of Pro Street Auto Sales. A Canadian citizen, Ramono was born in Ghana. He’s been married for 22 years and has two children.

Ramono’s certification to inspect and issue safety certificates was suspended after he was charged in connection with Ms. MacNaughton’s death in 2012.

OPP and the Ministry of Transportation teamed up to delve further into Ramono’s past after the charges were laid.

In 2016, Ramono was charged with six other counts of uttering forged documents and 63 record-keeping offences.

Issuing fake documents was a way of doing business for Ramono, the judge said. The fines he received appeared to be “the cost of doing business,” Bale added.

“The offender abused a position of trust to obtain money he did not earn,” Bale said.

Sharri MacNaughton, Abigail’s mother, was in court Thursday. She said she was pleased with the outcome.

“After all this time, after five years, I’m glad to turn the page. I’m really happy for the outcome because they need to be accountable – my daughter died,” she said.

MacNaughton went on to say she felt justice had been served and because of that, her daughter didn’t die in vain.

“She caught a bad guy and a reckless guy, too.”