BOYLE – The first of three men Boyle RCMP arrested and charged after the vehicle they were fleeing in got stuck in a snowbank, was sentenced to 30 days in jail last week, along with 16 additional days to be served concurrently on other charges.
In Boyle Provincial Court Jan. 12, Judge Clifton Purvis handed down the 30-day sentence to George Marcel Mountain on one count of possession of stolen property over $5,000, along with concurrent sentences of 10 days for obstructing a peace officer, and three days each on two counts of failing to comply with release conditions, as per a joint submission on sentencing from the Crown and defence.
Mountain, 32, of Lac La Biche, pleaded guilty to all four charges, and had already served 40 actual days in jail, so his time was considered served.
Court heard Mountain was one of three men arrested Dec. 4, after the truck he was in pulled into the entrance at the Amisk Lake Trailer park, just east of Boyle on Highway 663, then reversed quickly and fled after seeing RCMP were on the scene speaking to a complainant regarding the alleged break-ins of 24 cabins at the seasonal community.
Crown prosecutor Tyler McLean went on to tell Judge Purvis RCMP pursued the truck and activated their emergency lights to have the truck pull over, but the driver instead tried to turn around on the road and got stuck in a snowbank.
The two other men fled on foot in one direction, while Mountain headed in another direction. All three were eventually captured, and charged, with the help of RCMP Police Dog Services.
Upon searching the truck, RCMP located stolen property and two knives in the back seat, where Mountain was sitting, which he was forbidden from possessing as part of previous release conditions.