BRACEBRIDGE — A 45-year-old Bracebridge man has been sentenced to several months in jail for a series of offences.
Blair Vallance, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty in Huntsville court last Wednesday, July 21, to two counts of breach of probation, one count of driving with a suspended licence, driving with a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, one count of failing to appear in court and one count of drug trafficking.
Vallance, who looked forlorn while he was in the prisoner’s box during the proceedings, entered guilty pleas to all the charges, including the trafficking offence, which occurred in the St. Catharines area.
Federal prosecutor Graham Butler told the court that the southern Ontario charges came from an incident on July 27, 2009, when police received a tip that Vallance was in the area, looking to trade nine eight-milligram tablets of a substance known as synthetic heroin, for cocaine.
Officers were told that Vallance would be on a bicycle and in the parking lot of an area car wash business.
Police found Vallance at the parking lot, but a search failed to find any illegal substances on his person. Subsequent information received by police informed them that the accused had the tablets wrapped up in a restaurant napkin.
Officers later found Vallance outside a convenience store, where a search uncovered the tablets in a napkin on his bike. He was also charged with failing to comply with his bail conditions from a previous criminal charge. Vallance also missed a Nov. 27, 2009 court appearance.
Vallance was charged with the two driving-related offences on April 11, 2010 after Huntsville OPP received a report that a vehicle had been taken without the owner’s consent.
Police later found the vehicle and discovered Vallance was the driver. He told police he had a beer, but he failed the roadside-screening test. He later recorded readings at the police detachment of 180 and 170 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, both more than twice the legal limit.
He had two prior drunk-driving convictions, with one dating back to 2005. Butler said that Vallance made no attempt to retrieve his licence after his last conviction and was deemed to have a suspended licence at the time of his 2010 arrest.
Defence lawyer Peter Ward told the court that his client was once a family man who held a full-time job. He said Vallance’s life became unravelled in 2002 when his six-year-old son drowned, causing him to suffer from depression and his wife to suffer a nervous breakdown. The couple would eventually separate.
Ward said that the accused’s criminal record shows that his offences didn’t start until 2005 and he added that everything in the record since 2007 showed that Vallance “…has difficulty in complying with court orders.”
In custody for 101 days
Ward said Vallance had been in custody for 101 days at the time of Wednesday’s appearance for other criminal offences, and that his pretrial custody “should count for something.”
“He has been waiting for the St. Catharines charges to come to this court … we always thought they would be here sooner,” Ward said.
Both Butler and provincial prosecutor Ted Carlton said they had sympathy for Vallance’s personal troubles, but both noted he had a substantial criminal record in a short period of time that had to be addressed.
Vallance told the court he accepted responsibility for his actions, stating “…the last five years of my life, I have lost track.”
He added that he was concerned a long sentence would keep him from caring for his mother, who is currently battling cancer.
Judge J.D. Evans sentenced Vallance to a total of eight months for the charges, including time served.