Motorcyclist who flashed phoney handgun imprisoned
James Cole’s bright red Honda motorcycle is now property of the Province of Ontario.
Cole won’t be needing it much anyway. On Monday, he was sentenced to two years in a federal prison and banned from driving for another two years beyond that after admitting to being the motorcyclist who raced around Ottawa for several weeks last spring, flashing an imitation handgun at anyone who got in his way or dared to challenge him.
The 26-year-old became the subject of a manhunt last June after police released a photograph of him riding the distinctive motorcycle and flashing the middle finger to another motorist.
Prosecutor Kerry McVey told a judge the picture was snapped by an Ontario Ministry of Transportation officer not long after Cole sped between cars at 120 km/h on the double yellow line in the centre of McNeely Street in Carleton Place after he spotted a police cruiser turn around and start following him on June 16, 2016.
Two days earlier, Cole had pointed what appeared to be a black handgun at a vehicle full of people after that driver had honked his horn at Cole for passing him on the right in a bus lane on Woodroffe Avenue. And a day before that, Cole had pulled the gun on a man who had stepped out in the street and pointed at him after he raced around a corner too fast in a residential neighbourhood.
On June 9, Cole made a shooting gesture with his hand toward a man outside his house. Cole had driven past the house four times. He had previously been by that house. On May 26, he made a similar shooting gesture to the man’s wife after she tried to take his picture after earlier driving by at high speed.
Between the visits to that house, Cole had also fled from an Ottawa police officer who had tried to stop him after he went through a red light on Woodroffe Avenue, then passed an OC Transpo bus by crossing into the opposing lanes of traffic on Meadowlands Drive.
Over next 12 days, Ottawa police said, they received many subsequent reports of erratic red motorcycle driven by male with black helmet with a missing, concealed or fake licence plate.
Once police released the photo of Cole, they were contacted by two prior owners. One recognized the distinctive decals and after-market parts. Cole’s own uncle also called police to turn him in.
Powersports Canada, which sold the Honda CBR600 F4 motorcycle to Cole at the end of March 2016, also identified Cole as the owner of the bike.
Surveillance was conducted on his grandfather’s residence, where Cole lived, and police seized the motorcycle. Cole turned himself in, but once he was in custody, he contacted his grandfather and asked him to dispose of the gun. The grandfather told other family members who called police, and the gun was seized.
Cole was released on bail but violated his release conditions by calling his grandfather.
Cole called the elderly man and told him to “fix things for him or else someone would pay with their life,” said the prosecutor. A personal support worker overheard the call and told family members, who contacted police. Cole has been in jail ever since.
On Monday, Cole pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including two counts of pointing a firearm, possessing an imitation handgun, dangerous driving and criminal harassment.
Cole was given credit for 16 months of pre-sentence custody, bringing the total sentence to about 3 1/2 years. He still has two years left to serve. He was also prohibited from driving for a further two years as part of a probation order.