A pursuit that began with a speeding, stolen SUV and ended with several gun-related charges has landed one Saskatoon man in jail, and another man in prison.
Police briefly chased the vehicle after it failed to stop for officers around 2 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2014, court heard. The pursuit was called off when the suspects sped up to 180 km/h on Circle Drive; the speed combined with the snowy conditions posed a danger to the public, Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss said.
Officers eventually re-located and followed the vehicle until they found it abandoned in an alley near Broadway Avenue and Ruth Street. A canine track eventually led to Leslie Joseph Vermette, who was hiding under a deck. Police found a second man, Laird Russell Johnston, in a nearby yard.
Both men were arrested and charged with multiple offences. Police determined the SUV had been stolen the night before from the town of Imperial. A shotgun and a rifle were located inside.
Johnston, who was the driver, pleaded guilty to 17 charges including having a vehicle knowing it was obtained by crime, careless use of a firearm, possession of a weapon obtained by crime and evading police. He had also breached release conditions that he not have weapons or drive vehicles.
Justice Neil Gabrielson accepted a joint sentencing submission from the Crown and defence, imposing a jail term of two years less a day to be served concurrently on each count.
Under the terms of a separate joint submission, Vermette was sentenced to a penitentiary term of four years and four months. In addition to gun charges similar to Johnston’s, he also pleaded guilty to assaulting the arresting officer and possessing a prohibited weapon with readily accessible ammunition.
The morning after the men were arrested, a woman stumbled upon a sawed-off .22-calibre shotgun next to a parked vehicle. Police tied the weapon to Vermette because it was found closer to where he’d been hiding, Bliss said.
In arguing for the joint submission, Bliss admitted the Crown’s case was “highly circumstantial,” relied on a “series of inferences” and would have involved 18 witnesses had it gone to trial.
Vermette and Johnston were given lifetime firearm bans and ordered to provide DNA samples. Johnston is also prohibited from driving for three years after he is released from custody.
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