BOYLE, Alta. – A man from Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement with 42 convictions in the last 10 years on his record faces 60 days in jail, a lifetime firearms ban and a further two-year driving prohibition.
In Boyle Provincial Court Oct. 25, Chance Peter Boudreau pleaded guilty to driving while prohibited and possession of a firearm contrary to a court order and received the two-month sentence and the prohibitions, a joint submission on sentencing from Crown and defence which was accepted by Judge Rosanna Saccomani.
Defence lawyer Richard Mirasty told court he has represented Boudreau for a number of years, and acknowledged the 31-year-old's extensive criminal record, which included 42 prior convictions, some recent and related, which landed him in jail numerous times in that time.
He also noted a rather tragic life for Boudreau, who was raised by his grandmother, after his father was murdered when he was 11. He is also the father of five children himself, but only sees one at this time.
Boudreau had been in custody for 80 days and was given credit at 1.5 times, so his jail sentence was considered served.
Crown prosecutor Dallas Sopko said Boudreau’s related convictions were especially aggravating along with the sheer length of record itself but said the defendant's guilty plea before trial was a mitigating factor in his sentencing consideration. Aggravating as well, was the fact the firearm that he was jointly in possession of during his latest arrest, was loaded.
Sopko said Boyle RCMP were patrolling at BLMS Nov. 21, 2021, and saw Boudreau operating an ATV, and knowing he was prohibited from driving since October 2020, attempted to pull him over. He fled at the time, driving into a yard and abandoning the vehicle, but was soon located.
In addition, Sopko said on June 22, 2022, RCMP pulled over a vehicle driven by another individual who was wanted on a warrant. The vehicle fled to a heavily wooded area and was abandoned, he said. Police Dog Services were called in to assist and eventually found the wanted individual, along with Boudreau, who was a passenger. Police also found an abandoned firearm with nine rounds loaded in an attached magazine.
The driver is still awaiting trial, but Boudreau was already under a firearms prohibition at the time, so was handed down the lifetime ban as a result.
