History of impaired driving nets Bayham man prison sentence

A 60-year-old man with nine previous convictions for impaired driving was sent to prison recently despite having what his lawyer called a “heart of gold”.

David Alphonse Versnick, 60, of Bayham, exercises bad judgment and gets himself into situations that could easily be avoided, said Lisa Gunn.

“He’s one of my most heartbreaking clients,” Gunn told Justice Robert Gee in Simcoe’s Ontario Court.

“I’ve represented him for many years and he has a huge heart. He’s a hard worker and he has a drinking problem. His substance use issues have caused 99 per cent of every entry on his record.”

Versnick was found early April 1 after a civilian called police to report a man slumped over the wheel of his car in the middle of a normally busy Simcoe intersection at 4:08 am

When police arrived, they awakened an aggressive Versnick who said he was just going home from a coffee shop but, inside the vehicle, officers could see a nearly empty 750-milliliter bottle of whisky.

Versnick said he was diabetic and was assessed by paramedics, who said he was not. Meanwhile, officers found three glass pipes with steel wool in his vehicle, a typical indication of smoking crack cocaine, which Versnick later admitted to using.

At the Norfolk OPP detachment, Versnick pretended to cooperate with a breath test but wasn’t trying to blow into the machine and eventually was charged with failing to cooperate with the test.

An investigation found that Versnick was a prohibited driver and was under bail conditions to remain in his house from 10 pm to 7 am every day unless it was an emergency.

In court, he pleaded guilty to driving while prohibited, refusing to cooperate with the breath test and breach of court orders.

“He has nine prior impaired convictions, nine prior drive-disqualified convictions, eight prior bail breach convictions and he’s under a lifetime driving prohibition,” said Gunn.

“He knows he’s not supposed to be driving.

“It was 4 am and very aggravating for him to be in the middle of the road in Simcoe, contrary to his bail conditions.”

Versnick also had unpaid fines from the Ministry of Transportation, was driving without insurance and had the wrong plate on his vehicle.

The man has been in prison before: he was previously sentenced for driving disqualified, along with a minor drug offense and some tobacco act charges.

Assistant Crown attorney Gracie Romano alerted the court that she was seeking an increased penalty for Versnick’s latest offence, and agreed on a joint submission with Gunn for a three-year sentence.

“You can’t stop drinking so you’re continuing to put yourself and other members of the community at risk,” said the judge.

Gee warned that any future sentences will get longer and longer.

“You’ve been here many times in the past and you can’t seem to stop.

“It’s obvious that we’re getting to the point where we’re just going to have to keep you in jail until you can find it in yourself to stop drinking.”

Gee also noted that he would order “estreatment” proceedings to start.

That process could mean Versnick’s surety, who was responsible for ensuring that he followed his bail conditions, could be forced to pay a penalty of the funds that were promised when Versnick was allowed out on bail.

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