BRANDON — A Winnipeg man was handed a month-long jail sentence for driving impaired on the Trans-Canada Highway, narrowly missing other vehicles and nearly crashing into a bridge.
Julian Ulasy, 30, pleaded guilty in Brandon court Tuesday to operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, mischief of a motor vehicle and a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle from a separate incident.
The Crown sought a 30-day jail sentence and one-year driving prohibition for the impaired driving charge, while the defence argued for a fine and a driving prohibition.
On April 2, 2023, police observed a vehicle speeding at about 140 km/h on the Trans-Canada Highway. It was swerving and weaving into oncoming traffic lanes. The vehicle had many near-misses with other vehicles on the highway and almost hit the Kemnay bridge, 10 kilometres west of Brandon.
When police pulled Ulasy over, one of the officers described him as “passed out” in the vehicle. It also turned out that Ulasy had driven the vehicle from Regina without the owner’s permission.
Last October, Brandon police caught Ulasy driving a stolen vehicle to Brandon from Winnipeg.
Crown attorney Sarah Kok said that although Ulasy hadn’t been convicted of impaired driving in the past, the circumstances of the April incident warranted a jail sentence.
In Manitoba, there is a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first DUI conviction, which can increase to up to $2,000 depending on blood alcohol concentration levels or a refusal to provide a breath sample.
There is a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 30 days for a second conviction, or four months for subsequent convictions.
Defence lawyer Denby McLean told the court her client struggles with substance addiction, which is the root of his criminal offending.
The defence lawyer said her client has made efforts to become sober and upon his eventual release, wants to attend residential treatment again.
“On average, it does take between seven to 10 sobriety attempts to become sober and it is a lifelong struggle,” McLean said.
Associate chief justice Donovan Dvorak agreed with the Crown that the circumstances of the impaired driving required a jail sentence.
“It’s very near a dangerous driving charge and frankly, with dangerous driving charges, we look at custodial sentences,” Dvorak said. The judge also sentenced him to 30 days for possession of the stolen vehicle from Winnipeg.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and many times I’m in court and there are people with impaired driving charges and nobody’s been hurt, nobody’s been killed. Unfortunately, there are also many times when somebody has been hurt or somebody has been killed,” the judge said. “The only difference between those two people is good fortune.”
Though Ulasy will get time served for his sentence, he remains in jail as he is pending on other charges in Winnipeg.
— Brandon Sun