Kody Lafleur appears in an August 2022 Facebook photo.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Kody Lafleur

A Vernon man, charged with drunk driving causing death following a 2021 crash in Kelowna that killed a 30-year-old woman, has more than 20 driving convictions.

In the 22 years since getting his licence, Kody Charles Lafleur, born 1985, has amassed 19 driving convictions and added two more to his lengthy record today, July 15, after pleading guilty to driving without a licence on two separate occasions in late 2023.

It's unclear whether BC Provincial Court Judge David Patterson knew that Lafleur had been charged with drunk driving causing death and that the trial is scheduled for early next year, but he described driving without a licence as a "horrifying offence" with "grotesque" consequences.

The judge then challenged the Crown prosecutor questioning why if the risk involved to innocent people was so high they were only asking for Lafleur to spend 45 days in jail.

"That seems to me like it has zero deterrent," Judge Patterson said. "The reality is somebody that been given three separate prohibitions drives, is caught driving and then less than a month later drives again... wouldn't that shock the conscience of the community if the local newspaper was here and reporting the details of today and saying, 'Hey you can do all that, risk everybody's lives (and get little jail time).'

"I want to know why Crown is only seeking (the) equivalent to a 30-day jail sentence given the facts?"

In defending her position for the proposed sentence, Crown prosecutor Alison Buchanan told the judge 30 days behind bars was in keeping with similar sentences for driving without a licence.

The judge didn't really seem to buy it.

"(I'm) not asking you to change your sentencing position I want to understand your sentencing position," Judge Patterson said.

READ MORE: JONESIE: How Canadian news became victims in its own story

"There's not much I can say other than sentencing while driving when prohibited... vary vastly from judge to judge," Buchanan said.

Little information was given in court about the driving offences, only that Lafleur had been stopped in Enderby in November 2023 after police noticed his number plate didn't match the vehicle.

He was arrested and charged, but five weeks later he was back behind the wheel heading to Quesnel to see his children for Christmas.

Then on Christmas Day, police spotted his vehicle full of garbage and looking like it had broken down at a gas station in Quesnel. Police asked for his licence and promptly arrested him as he already had outstanding warrants for driving while prohibited.

Both these occurrences took place after Lafleur had been charged with drunk driving causing death.

Little is known about the fatal crash Lafleur is alleged to have been involved in, only that it took place on Highway 97 near Ellison Lake in Kelowna in September 2021.

RCMP said at the time that a green Chevrolet SUV heading southbound had crossed the centre line and hit a black Dodge pickup heading north.

READ MORE: Judge has to order Summerland condo owner to behave himself, pay thousands

A 30-year-old female passenger in the SUV was declared dead at the scene, while the 36-year-old male driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Three other vehicles were involved in the crash but their occupants didn't sustain serious injuries.

Lafleur is currently in custody awaiting the trial after failing to turn up to court earlier this year.

He told the court he wanted to "live a better life" and "be a better person."

Judge Patterson accepted his words as genuine but called his driving record "terrible."

Lafleur has previously been convicted of excessive speeding, driving without insurance, drunk driving, multiple speeding convictions, received a series of one, three and seven-day roadside prohibitions, driving without a licence and driving while banned, and driving without the right class of licence.

The judge said had the Crown asked for three to five months in jail he would have seriously considered it.

As Lafleur had already spent 48 days behind bars, the judge's sentence of 45 days in jail means he won't spend any more time behind bars for this offence. He was also fined $1,000 and banned from driving for two years.

However, as Lafleur is in custody awaiting trial on the drunk driving causing death charge it doesn't appear he'll be released.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 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. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2024