‘This is a hunt down and run’
Man pleads guilty after running brother’s ex-girlfriend off road
An Edmonton man has admitted chasing his brother’s ex-girlfriend at high speeds through city streets before running her vehicle off the road and into a power pole and fleeing the scene.
The crash that ended the 15-minute pursuit nearly killed the driver of the ex-girlfriend’s car, court heard.
Robert Shular, 27, pleaded guilty to to two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and hit-and-run in court Tuesday afternoon.
“This isn’t a hit-and-run,” provincial court Judge James Wheatley said. “This is a hunt down and run.”
According to an agreed statement of facts, Shular saw his brother’s ex-girlfriend Nicole Alton and her new boyfriend inside a Wal-Mart on the night of Oct. 3, 2012. Shular called his brother, then followed the couple out of the parking lot in a stolen black Dodge truck.
Shular’s brother was angry at Alton’s new relationship, court heard.
In a 911 call played for court, Alton told police that she and her new boyfriend Jonathon Soulliere were being followed by a black truck and a silver car. As a panicked Alton told police where they were, revving engines and squealing tires could be heard in the background. Witnesses later said the black truck was tailgating so closely it appeared it was being towed by Soulliere’s car. Speeds approached 120 kilometres an hour.
“Now they’re trying to hit us,” Alton said on the 911 call. “They’re trying to box us in. Oh my God.”
In court, Alton cried and shook as she heard her desperate voice.
The 911 call ended with a scream as Shular rear-ended Soulliere’s car and sent it crashing into a power pole at 137th Avenue and 119th Street.
“A car is wrapped around a pole, really bad,” a witness told 911. “There’s two people trapped under the dash. I’m scared to even go look at it.” Shular sped away. Both Alton, 17 at the time, and Soulliere, 20 at the time, had to be extricated from the vehicle.
Alton suffered a severe concussion and has limited memory of the incident. Soulliere suffered a brain injury, two broken legs, a broken pelvis, a broken jaw, a broken orbital bone and fractured ribs. He was in intensive care for a month and still needs weekly rehabilitation.
“I have had a very hard time with my recovery,” Soulliere said in a victim impact statement, his cane at his side. “We don’t know if I will ever fully recover. I now have a brain injury that will follow me for the rest of my life. I am in excruciating pain every day of my life.”
Hours after the crash, Shular and his brother fled Edmonton and went to stay with relatives in Fort St. John, B.C.
“We don’t know if I will ever fully recover. I now have a brain injury that will follow me for the rest of my life. I am in excruciating pain every day of my life.”
JONATHON SOULLIERE
“I think I killed two people,” Shular told his girlfriend that night.
He told her he hadn’t intended to hit the other car.
Shular was arrested in Edmonton several weeks later.
The Crown prosecutor and defence lawyer jointly recommended a sentence of four years in prison, but Wheatley reserved his decision.
Shular is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18.
In court, he apologized to the families of Alton and Soulliere.
“There is no word in the English language that can describe the guilt I feel. Even though I’m not looking for mercy, please know that you are sentencing a changed and better man.”
Shular’s brother, Cory Chalmers, also faces charges in connection with the crash.
His trial date has not been set.