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Welland Courthouse.


Welland Courthouse. (QMI Agency Niagara file photo)

Fine for impaired driver

Driving with well over three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system proved costly for a Fort Erie resident.

“I’m willing to bet that anyone else in this room wouldn’t be able to stand up with those readings,” Judge Joseph Nadel said after being told Vince Danagher was behind the wheel with a blood/alcohol reading of 288 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The legal limit is 80 milligrams.

“It’s an astounding level.”

Danagher, 51, pleaded guilty in an Ontario Court of Justice in Welland on Wednesday to a charge of over 80.

He was pulled over by police in Fort Erie on March 31, 2016. He was arrested after failing a roadside breath test.

The judge imposed a $1,200 fine and banned Danagher from driving for 12 months.

“Those readings tell me he’s a very experienced drinker,” Nadel added.

Court heard the defendant has a previous conviction for impaired driving.

Discharge for Niagara man

A Lincoln man facing charges after he fled from police during a traffic stop in Welland and six months later kicked a police officer in the face in St. Catharines said his actions were the result of a deep fear of law enforcement.

Jacob Grant appeared in an Ontario Court of Justice in Welland on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to a number of offences including obstruct police and assaulting a police officer.

Grant, who does not have a criminal record, received a conditional discharge which means a criminal conviction was not registered against him. He was placed on probation for 18 months.

Defence lawyer Brenda Sandulak said her client has a fear of police stemming from an incident five years ago which left him with a broken neck.

“He has a significant fear of police,” she told Judge Joseph Nadel, adding Grant is now undergoing counselling to help him deal with the trauma of the previous incident.

On Aug. 25, 2016, court heard, Niagara Regional Police conducted a traffic stop near the Seaway Mall in Welland.

Assistant Crown attorney Tim Hill said Grant rolled up his window when an officer approached the vehicle.

A short time later, Grant reversed his vehicle and the officer, fearing the driver was going to strike another officer, took out his night stick and smashed the vehicle’s driver’s side and rear windows.

Grant drove off and was pursued by two officers. He was subsequently arrested in the parking lot of the shopping mall.

Six months later in St. Catharines, Hill said, Grant “engaged in a consensual fight and was knocked to the ground.”

Police were called after witnesses spotted Grant waving a knife in the air.

When confronted by police, the defendant kicked a police officer in the face and caused damage to a police cruiser.


Source: Welland Tribune