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Judge might jail drunk driver

-- Crown, defence ask for hefty fine -- Four times over limit, no one hurt

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 07/10/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

There are many medical experts who will say he should have been unconscious, perhaps even close to death, given his alarming state of impairment.

Yet Jesse Friesen was somehow alert enough -- with a 0.33 blood-alcohol reading -- to get behind the wheel of his car and drive back to Winnipeg from his rural cottage one evening last year. He managed to avoid hitting other motorists before ending up in a ditch on Highway 59.

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Driving drunk was a decision Friesen, 29, says has dashed his dream of becoming a Manitoba firefighter. Now a judge is deciding whether it should also cost Friesen his freedom.

Friesen pleaded guilty to impaired driving Monday in a seemingly routine case that ended up being anything but. Crown and defence lawyers made a joint recommendation for a hefty fine and driving suspension, saying that has become the normal standard for first-time offenders like Friesen, especially when there is no bodily injury or death.

But provincial court Judge Ray Wyant threw a major roadblock in the proceedings by suggesting he was considering the rare step of ignoring the plea bargain and imposing a much stiffer sentence.

"Why shouldn't I give you jail?" Wyant wondered aloud.

He was particularly upset with Friesen's level of impairment, more than four times the legal limit for driving, saying he's heard many expert witnesses over the years say people in that extreme range are often struggling to stay alive with acute alcohol poisoning.

"I can't imagine how much alcohol it would take to get you up to .33. I can't even contemplate how you could get in a car and drive. That's an incredible amount of alcohol," Wyant said.

The veteran judge said he's grown tired of seeing so many similar cases on his docket, specifically on the outskirts of Winnipeg, where tragic crashes have become too common.

"We've had far too many people maimed or killed on Manitoba highways," Wyant said. Many city-dwellers head for their cottages on weekends, but people like Friesen put them all in peril, he said.

"How many people are sitting at their cottage drinking all day, then getting behind the wheel and putting thousands of lives of Manitobans at risk?" Wyant said. "That is intolerable conduct."

Friesen, who has a cottage at Gull Lake, was unable to say how much alcohol he consumed that day. But he denied having a drinking problem.

"Almost anyone would be passed out at that level if they're not a seasoned drinker. That level... would probably kill most people," Wyant said.

He asked Crown and defence lawyers to defend their decision to recommend just a fine. They responded by saying Friesen's otherwise exemplary background, immediate remorse displayed through his guilty plea and lack of any harm caused to anyone else are all grounds for a non-custodial sentence.

As well, Friesen explained his criminal record means he can no longer pursue a career as a firefighter. His lawyer agreed with Wyant that drunk driving continues to be a major problem but urged him not to unfairly punish Friesen for the cumulative affect of everyone else's wrongdoing.

Wyant said he understands people like Friesen usually don't get jail sentences but said tragic circumstances will likely continue to play out -- both on highways and in courtrooms -- if something doesn't change. "What's it going to take?" he asked.

Wyant will return to court on Wednesday morning with his sentencing decision.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 10, 2012 A4

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