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More light has been shed on what prompted a Sarnia man to reoffend mother minutes after being released on bail following five hit-and-run crashes in a stolen pickup while being chased by police.
Trevor Clark was granted bail on Sept. 27, 2021, the day after the bizarre incident. One of the conditions of his release order included not driving or having care or control of a vehicle.
But after walking out of the back door of Sarnia police headquarters at 12:35 pm that Monday, he continued across the street to a gas station and saw a man filling his boat trailer’s tires with air.
The engine of the vehicle pulling the boat was idling.
“Mr. Clark got into the vehicle, closed the door and drove off,” assistant Crown attorney Meaghan Jones said while reading an agreed statement of facts to a Sarnia courtroom.
Clark, who has never had a driver’s licence, popped one of the trailer’s tires and cracked the boat’s fiberglass shell as he sped towards the city’s hospital. When police tracked him down there, he left the vehicle in gear and fled on foot. One officer hopped in and put the vehicle in park while another officer chased Clark down and put him in handcuffs.
A Sarnia police officer sent out a tweet at the time in response to the bewildering situation.
“Yesterday, guy steals a truck, crashes it five different times, flees from the police, ghost rides the truck and runs from the cops. Today, he gets bail, walks out of the station, steals a truck, ghost rides the truck and runs! Was out of custody for 30 seconds before reoffending,” he said in the social-media post.
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In short a couple of months later, Jones said Clark’s behavior was “really” concerning.
“It was so immediate (and) right after the court ordered him to not have care or control of a motor vehicle,” she said. “It’s like it had no impact, just in one ear and out the other.”
But after Clark, 29, pleaded guilty from the Sarnia Jail in mid-November to seven charges linked to the back-to-back incidents including two counts each of dangerous driving and stealing a vehicle, defense lawyer Robert McFadden explained his client’s motivation.
“He tells me he took the vehicle because he was afraid he’d miss his methadone appointment,” he said. “He was trying to make his way to the methadone clinic with that stolen vehicle.”
McFadden said his client became “hooked” on OxyContin as a teen and has been on the synthetic opioid replacement therapy drug for the past 12 years.
“There hasn’t been much success because Trevor is currently taking 150 milligrams of methadone per day, which is the highest dose available,” he said, adding it’s “quite obvious” his client is “really” addicted.
Jones conceded Clark’s moral culpability was slightly reduced due to his addiction but noted he’d been given chances to address the issue during previous stays in jail, including a one-year stint for robbery.
“There comes a point where personal responsibility also plays a role,” Jones said.
Justice Deborah Austin sentenced Clark to roughly two years behind bars and added she’ll “strongly” recommend he be placed in an Ontario jail that doubles as a treatment center
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The judge, though, added the facts she heard were “shocking to the court.”
Clark was arrested for the initial theft at around noon on Sept. 26 after he exited the stolen white pickup at a pedestrian crosswalk on Exmouth Street and ran down the Howard Watson Trail
As Clark was being arrested, the officer heard a bunch of motorists honking their horns – and it wasn’t to congratulate him on the takedown.
“(The officer) noticed that the stolen pickup had been left in drive by Mr. Clark and was now going eastbound into the road,” Jones said.
Another officer managed to catch up to the pickup and put it in park.
“Once the dust settled, it was learned that there was a total of five vehicle collisions that Mr. Clark had caused while he was driving the stolen pickup truck,” Jones said.
One of the five collisions involved Clark clipping a gas-filled tanker truck at a Capel Street Esso station.
“If you look at these facts here, no one can dispute that this was a danger,” McFadden said. “He was on some of the busiest roads in the city.”
McFadden also noted his client had “very little” experience with vehicles.
“That, too, adds to the risk to the public as you drove a stolen vehicle through the streets of the city and collided with other vehicles,” the judge said.
Multiple witnesses gave statements to police complaining of his dangerous driving.
Before taking Clark back to headquarters that Sunday, police took him to get a dose of methadone.
While being sentenced, Clark told the judge he was “grateful” to have a chance to change his life.
“I really hope they do recommend treatment for me because I really do need it,” he said.
“Mr. Clark, you and I agree on that,” Austin responded.
Clark had 20 months left to serve after getting credit for pre-sentence custody, but he’ll have a one-year probation order after he’s released and is banned from driving for five years.
Other charges were withdrawn.