Donald Brodie has been sentenced for charges relating to a 2013 run from police that seriously injured a pedestrian.
Image Credit: Facebook
November 15, 2017 - 10:32 AM
KELOWNA – A man sentenced to nine years in prison today for seriously injuring a newspaper delivery man in a 2013 run from police finally ends one of the more bizarre criminal proceedings in years.
Last month, Donald Brodie, 38, was found guilty of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and flight causing bodily harm or death and was sentenced today, Nov. 14.
Brodie is a prolific offender with more than 40 convictions and in this case he lied multiple times to police and in court. He first denied being the driver when he and two passengers ran from a police road block on Springfield Road after a house party the night of Dec. 5, 2013, and struck and seriously injured a 45-year-old man who was delivering newspapers. He and Nathan Fahl were arrested Dec. 6.
Fahl was originally charged with six crimes but all charges were stayed after Brodie told Global Okanagan he was, in fact, the driver. He also claimed he was run off the road by police. He admits he drank six beer that night and took heroin.
Crown lawyer David Grabavac said today that the newspaper delivery man's life has been changed forever. He now requires around-the-clock care and although only 45 years old, lives in a retirement home.
Over the next four years Brodie sent five letters to RCMP and seven to the media all saying Fahl was innocent and saying he was the driver.
Once charges were dropped against Fahl, Brodie took back his statements of guilt and demanded a trial, but according to recently released court documents, Brodie confessed to being the driver during interviews with two members of Kelowna RCMP. All of those interviews, however, were tossed by a judge for failing to understand the laws around questioning detained persons as well as what Supreme Court Justice Marsha Devlin called “aggressive, intimidating and unprofessional" behaviour from one key officer.
On Sept. 22 Justice Martha Devlin found that Brodie lied about lying and was in fact the driver that night.
Today, Nov. 14 she sentenced him to nine years in jail.
"His actions showed a disregard for the lives of others," she said.
Crown was seeking a ten year sentence while Brodie's lawyer wanted less than four years.
Brodie has 43 other prior criminal convictions on his record, including another flight from police in 2013, and has been in custody since June 2016 for an unrelated robbery conviction. Less than two months ago while in jail for the robbery, Brodie slashed another inmate across the cheek with a razor blade.
He was put in segregation for 30 days for the "unprovoked" assault.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017