Swerving on Highway 1, an impaired Joel Peter Schlamp nearly drove other motorists off the road.
It eventually required the RCMP and Moose Jaw Police Service to pull over Schlamp and arrest him, thus adding to his criminal record another charge of impaired driving.
Appearing in Moose Jaw provincial court recently, Schlamp, 34, pleaded guilty to impaired driving and received 120 days in jail, along with a three-year driving prohibition. He will also have to pay a victim surcharge of $120 when he gets out of jail.
The Crown stayed two other charges.
Moose Jaw RCMP received several calls from motorists — including one who had been sideswiped — around 7:30 p.m. on May 13 about a vehicle driving erratically west on Highway 1, explained Crown prosecutor Stephen Yusuff. Driving at high speeds, the vehicle jumped the ditch and travelled eastbound in the westbound lane before it pulled into a gas station in Caronport.
RCMP eventually located the vehicle travelling back east on Highway 1 and swerving everywhere, including jumping into the south ditch. The officers activated their lights and sirens, but that did not stop the motorist. They then pulled beside the vehicle to make eye contact and have Schlamp pull over, but that did not work.
The officers eventually stopped their pursuit for safety reasons, but called in the Moose Jaw Police Service for support, Yusuff said. City police were unable to stop Schlamp either, so they waited until he pulled into the PetroCan gas station and then arrested him.
“The accused appeared to be impaired. There was open alcohol inside the vehicle and the odour of beverage alcohol was on the accused’s person,” continued Yusuff.
Police heard Schlamp mutter that a Christian church was out to get him, but they also heard him say more incomprehensible things. He did admit to taking narcotics the night before.
A breath sample revealed Schlamp had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .03, which was less than the legal limit of .08.
Yusuff brought Schlamp’s previous criminal record to the attention Judge Lane Wiegers. The record showed police charged Schlamp with having a BAC over .08 in 2004; with driving disqualified in 2005; with having another BAC over the legal limit in 2009; with driving impaired in 2016; and with being unlawfully at large in 2016.
“Because of his criminal record, he has committed similar offences three times before,” Yusuff said. “This is his fourth. The Criminal Code says there is a mandatory minimum of 120 days (in jail). He’s taken responsibility, so we will not seek anything higher.”
Wiegers pointed out that Schlamp has a significant history of impaired driving, which shows he has a problem. If Schlamp were to reoffend with something similar, he would receive a longer sentence.
“When I consider all the circumstances, these are dangerous circumstances,” the judge said, before accepting the Crown’s sentencing recommendations.
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