Windsor man sentenced to five years in prison
It was “sheer luck” that a heavily impaired Windsor man didn’t shatter lives last year when he was weaving all over the roads in a stolen pickup truck, said a Simcoe judge recently.
Jessy Kevin Geneau-Ouellette, who smashed into two police cruisers in Simcoe last year, swerved all over Highway 3, sometimes drove into oncoming traffic and likely left other drivers “utterly terrified,” said Justice Kathleen Baker.
“You were a threat to everyone else on the road,” the judge said, sentencing Geneau-Ouellette to prison.
At the time of the incident, the 25-year-old was already under a Canada-wide prohibition against driving or even sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle due to previous convictions.
Police started getting multiple calls about a Chevy Silverado running red lights and swerving into oncoming traffic and located the truck on Highway 3, near Charlotteville Road.
“Police saw it half on the road and half on the shoulder with a large amount of dust being thrown in the air,” said federal prosecutor Jamie Pereira.
After seeing the dangerous driver hitting the shoulder and speeding, then slowing, an officer was able to deploy a spike belt as Geneau-Ouellette moved along Highway 24.
Pereira said the man began to drive head-on at traffic with other drivers taking evasive action. After running over the spike belt, at least one tire of the stolen vehicle disintegrated, flinging large chunks of rubber around.
Geneau-Ouellette turned on Prescott Avenue in Simcoe, spun the damaged truck across the lawn of a church property and, as police tried to block him in, rammed two cruisers.
He continued an attempt to get away while officers were doing a high-risk take-down, pulling the man through the driver’s window of the stolen vehicle.
Charges were also transferred to Simcoe from the Chatham-Kent area where Geneau-Ouellette lost control of his vehicle almost exactly one year earlier.
In that case, he was ejected from the rolled vehicle and hospitalized for his injuries.
After finding crack cocaine and methamphetamine in his vehicle, police got a warrant to access the man’s blood sample from the hospital and he was later charged with drug offences.
“It’s aggravating that you seem to have a blatant disregard for court orders and the suspension of your licence,” said Baker.
“I regret what I did,” Geneau-Ouellette told the judge, pleading guilty in court to drug-impaired driving, flight from police, fail to remain at an accident, possession of stolen property and, from the Chatham-Kent incident, another drug-impaired driving charge.
“I endangered people’s lives while I was driving and I’m not proud of that. I’m just trying to get this over with so I can get out, start over and try to be there for my son.”
Geneau-Ouellette told Baker he had been dealing with a serious drug problem since youth but his lawyer noted that he’s been clean of fentanyl and amphetamines since being in custody.
Geneau-Ouellette also faces additional charges from Sault Ste. Marie and was wanted in several jurisdictions when he was arrested in Simcoe.
Baker sentenced him to the joint submission of five years, and credited him with two years of time already served since his arrest.
She warned him to get counseling and develop strategies for his life before leaving prison and to avoid drugs.
“Fentanyl is death and destruction and ruination. Look at the problems fentanyl has caused you and (dealing it) is inviting everyone else to suffer the same fate. Take advantage of all the help you can get in the penitentiary.”
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