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(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A prolific offender who "terrorized" Vernon for a week by stealing multiple vehicles and bear spraying people will spend another two years behind bars.

B.C. Provincial Court Judge Jeremy Guild sentenced 24-year-old Zedd Clyde Zimmerman to two years in a federal jail saying there would be more resources available in federal prison to help with his rehabilitation.

A sentence of just one day less would have sent Zimmerman to a provincial jail.

Judge Guild pointed out the 24-year-old had spent plenty of time in provincial jails and it hasn't stopped him from reoffending when he got out.

Zimmerman appeared at the Vernon courthouse facing 37 charges related to a crime spree in Vernon in June last year, as well as a high-speed car chase in the Lower Mainland.

The court heard how Zimmerman, who is from Surrey, arrived in Vernon along with two friends, Andrew Korosec and Kristopher Prevost, in June 2021 and stole a black SUV.

Shortly before 5 a.m. Zimmerman drove the SUV onto a property in the Foothills neighbourhood of Vernon and the owner came out of her home and started filming the vehicle.

As Zimmerman drove past, someone in the vehicle sprayed bear spray at the woman.

The police were called and set up a roadblock near Butcher Boys Grocery Store.

However, the SUV swerved pasted the roadblock and continued on, reaching speeds of 120 km/h on the 50 km/h road.

The court heard how Zimmerman drove down 27 Avenue often on the wrong side of the road at 120 km/h until he finally fishtailed on Highway 6 and crashed. He then took off on foot towards Polson Park where he was arrested.

In an usually lengthy sentencing hearing at the Vernon Courthouse Aug. 25, Judge Guild said Zimmerman had a "complete disregard" for the safety of other people and the harm that he could have caused.

Police found multiple stolen items in the vehicle that Zimmerman had swiped from unlocked cars, along with several garage door openers.

Along with the Vernon crime spree, Zimmerman was also being sentenced for a high-speed car chase in the Lower Mainland.

Judge Guild said Zimmerman stolen an unlocked Jaguar with the keys in it and drove 160 km/h on various highways, eluding police and doing several u-turns to avoid roadblocks.

Police tracked him by helicopter and eventually, he drove over a spike belt but then continued down a dirt road before finally being arrested.

"It's clear from the circumstances that he never quits, he doesn't stop he just drives until he can not drive anymore, and then he still tries to flee," Judge Guild said.

The court heard how Zimmerman had stolen his first car at age 13 and spent much of his life in prison.

He'd previously been convicted for stealing cars, driving while prohibited, assault, assault causing bodily harm, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and theft.

In one case in 2018, he stole a vehicle while the passenger, who was eight months pregnant, was still in the vehicle.

"(He) clearly has a complete disregard for the safety of other people," the Judge said.

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The court heard how Zimmerman had grown up largely in foster care, after being removed from his mother's care when he was very young.

He didn't know his father, but in recent years the two had met up in prison.

Over his youth, he'd been in 15 different foster homes.

Judge Guild said Zimmerman had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, post-traumatic syndrome, and ADHD.

He'd also been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder, amphetamine use disorder, cannabis use disorder, and alcohol use disorder.

"He hasn't belonged, from being very young he hasn't been able to form relationships, his mother wasn't there, his father wasn't there, he bounced around from a whole host of foster homes so he doesn't have a history of making any real connections with people, and it's no surprise," the Judge said.

"He told his probation officer driving is the only time he feels truly free. He knows that driving while high is wrong, but justifies it by saying he's been doing it for so long it doesn't affect him... that shows a complete lack of insight."

The judge pointed out that Zimmerman had committed these crimes while either on probation or house arrest.

However, the judge said Zimmerman had been honest about his life and his crimes.

"There is some degree of remorse, he said he was glad he was arrested before he did more damage," he said.

The court heard how Zimmerman wanted to become a heavy-duty mechanic.

Having already spent more than 600 days in custody Judge Guild sentenced Zimmerman to two years in federal jail, followed by three years probation. That's the equivalent of a 4.5 year jail sentence.

The probation condition includes a 9 p.m. curfew and prohibits him from taking drugs or alcohol.

"The idea is to stop any relapse sooner rather than later to get you back on the right track... the idea behind it is not to put you back in jail," the Judge said. "I'm crafting the probation order for some time down the road, the idea is trying to keep you headed in the right direction, your rehabilitation and the protection of the public."

The judge tried to get Zimmerman's consent to have a psychiatric assessment done as a condition of his probation.

However, Zimmerman refused, and the judge pointed out he couldn't force such an assessment to take place.

Zimmerman did however agree to obey the rules of any treatment facility he attended when on probation.

Judge Guild spoke for almost two hours while reading out the sentence before finally concluding.

"Try and make the good choices," the judge said. "I hope you do."

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