A burnt-out brake lamp burned a Lambton County man, who was convicted of impaired driving – for the third time.
At Sarnia courtroom last week heard a Lambton OPP officer noticed an older-model Chevrolet Silverado was slowing down while driving on St. Clair Parkway this past summer, but the pickup’s brake lights weren’t lighting up properly. So the officer pulled Terry Little, a 59-year-old Corunna resident, over around 6:40 pm on July 8 and talked to him.
“While speaking with the accused, the officer could detect an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath,” assistant Crown attorney Aniko Coughlan said while reading an agreed statement of facts.
The retired Procor railcar repairman, who had already been convicted of impaired driving in 1982 and 2013, admitted he had one beer earlier in the day. But he failed a roadside test and was arrested.
Further tests at headquarters in Corunna showed he had about 130 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams.
Little, now 60, pleaded guilty Tuesday to being over the legal limit within two hours of driving.
“Mr. Little took some issue with respect to some of the grounds for the stop, but he is satisfied that he is guilty,” defense lawyer Luigi Perzia said.
Justice Deborah Austin, who imposed a $2,100 fine and a 14-month driving ban, said it’s aggravating he had two prior convictions.
“But I note that one is from 40 years ago, which was when you were about 20 years old,” the judge said to Little. “So there’s a significant gap.”
The minimum fine was $1,500, but Coughlan asked for $2,500 due to the readings and the two prior, but dated, convictions. She also asked for the driving ban to be extended from one year to 18 months.
Perzia countered with just one year as his client spends most of his time helping his 87-year-old mother at her farm in Courtright and not being able to drive there will have an impact on both of them.
“That is where he was on the day of the offense,” he said.
Little declined a chance to address the court.
“Luigi basically summed everything up correctly,” he said.
Due to a lack of a joint submission, the judge lowered the fine and settled on one year and two months while factoring in the initial 90-day ban police imposed at the time.