An Edmonton man was given three consecutive jail sentences for striking a pedestrian with his van and drinking and driving.
Ibrahim Osman appeared in St. Albert court via closed-circuit television (CCTV) from the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC) last week and pleaded guilty to three charges arising from Edmonton: failure to stop at the scene of an accident that involves another person, driving a motor vehicle without insurance, failure to yield to a pedestrian, and two charges from St. Albert: driving while over the legal blood alcohol limit and driving while disqualified.
Just before Christmas in 2008, court heard Osman was driving a van travelling northbound on 97 St. at 101A Ave. in Edmonton when he hit a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. Osman fled the scene. Police later determined the van he was driving was uninsured and unregistered and that Osman had left the province for Regina, to stay with his mom.
The pedestrian suffered a broken kneecap.
Police caught up with Osman again on June 22, 2013, as he weaved in and out of traffic in St. Albert in a Volkswagen Jetta. The 27-year-old was still wanted on outstanding warrants from Edmonton when officers pulled him over for impaired driving.
Osman said he had two drinks that day because it was his birthday and admitted to throwing one of the beer bottles out the window of the car. He provided police with breath samples reading 170 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, the legal limit is 80 milligrams.
Defence counsel told the court Osman had panicked in 2008 when he hit the pedestrian. More recently, he has been suffering from a drinking problem, a coping mechanism for a diagnosis of Uveitis – inflammation of the eye that can lead to permanent vision loss.
Osman was handed three consecutive jail sentences: 90 days for the hit and run, 30 days for excessive blood alcohol and another 30 days for driving while disqualified. The 27-year-old will also have to pay off a total of $3,450 in fines, serve one-year probation with an alcohol and drugs abstinence clause and a two-year driving prohibition.
He has 42 days left to serve.
A Cold Lake First Nations man was given a three-week jail sentence for refusing to provide a breath sample.
Maurice Curtis Berland appeared in court last week via CCTV from the ERC and pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath sample to police after he was caught driving erratically in St. Albert just before Christmas in 2011.
RCMP caught up with Berland in the St. Albert Centre parking lot where he denied drinking alcohol that day and said he was waiting for his girlfriend inside the mall. Officer notes indicated the 40-year-old fumbled with his wallet and there was an odour of alcohol of his breath.
At the time, Berland was wanted on outstanding warrants in Edmonton.
He was sentenced to 21 days in jail, consecutive to other matters he is currently serving time for, as well as a one-year driving prohibition.
A 19-year-old man from Westlock has been ordered to stay away from controlled drugs after he was caught getting high while driving.
Jacob Rothgordt pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act after St. Albert Municipal Enforcement Officers caught him lighting up a pipe while driving on St. Albert Trail on July 21.
Police found 0.48 grams of marijuana in Rothgordt’s black Honda Accord. He admitted to smoking it while driving.
Since he had no prior criminal record, the 19-year-old was given a six-month conditional discharge and is prohibited from using controlled drugs.
