Dangerous driving and drug charge lead to jail time for Coalhurst man

A Coalhurst man pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, possession of a controlled substance and breach of conditions, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail for his actions.

Paul Wayne McCarthy entered his guilty plea in Lethbridge provincial court on Thursday.

McCarthy admitted on May 18 just before noon he was returning home to his residence in Coalhurst when he saw an unmarked police vehicle waiting for him outside his home which promptly turned on its flashing lights. Instead of stopping as required, McCarthy moved evasively into a nearby alley and drove at high speed through a school zone before taking off down the highway. RCMP and Lethbridge police officers did not pursue at the time, and instead carried on to execute a search warrant of McCarthy’s home where they uncovered a small amount of fentanyl and a folding knife, which breached his prior release conditions.

Just before 1 p.m. McCarthy returned to his home to surrender himself to police, and was taken into custody.

McCarthy, who has several previous convictions including drug trafficking and possession, was sentenced by Judge Michelle Christopher to 30 days on the dangerous driving charge, 10 days on the possession charge, and 10 days on the breach of conditions charge for possessing the folding knife. These sentences were all given to run concurrently.

McCarthy was given credit for time spent in pre-trial custody on these charges, and will serve another 20 days at Lethbridge Correctional Centre.

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