Pleading guilty to suspended driver caught with large amounts of methamphetamine

Police caught driver Scott Carson behind the wheel twice in 12 months.

Sault Ste. Marie Police officers caught him on Wallace Terrace shortly before 12:30 a.m. on June 20, 2023.

In July this year he was stopped again during a traffic stop on Cathcart Street.

This time, a search revealed that the 59-year-old was not only a suspended driver but was in possession of 18 grams of methamphetamine, a judge heard earlier this month.

Carson pleaded guilty to six offenses, including two each of driving while disqualified and failing to attend a hearing, as well as one count of breaching a condition of release which prevents him from driving.

He was also convicted of an offense under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for possession of methamphetamine in connection with a traffic stop on July 17.

The defendant has an extensive and related history of similar driving offenses, including a 1991 conviction for dangerous driving, said assistant Crown prosecutor Blair Hagan.

She said Carson’s last sentence, in 2020, was for 90 days

Ontario Court Justice Melanie Dunn during a hearing on October 3.

“Concrete deterrence is the issue here.”

The Crown and defense lawyer Jessica Belisle jointly recommended that the sentence be served – the equivalent of 116 days – plus a four-year driving ban.

“This is an early resolution to this issue,” Hagan said. “Driving a car is a privilege, not a right.”

Federal prosecutor Lindsay Marshall indicated that she and Belisle were proposing a suspended sentence with a 12-month probation order that included counseling for the CDSA offense.

The defense stated that her client had a long-term addiction that began many years ago with alcohol.

Carson is now addicted to methamphetamine and “it’s bothering him,” Belisle told the court.

He also struggles with mental illness.

This is a preliminary complaint and he has taken responsibility for his actions, she said, agreeing that his past is damning.

“He is a person capable of living a life free from crime,” the defense also suggested.

When Dunn imposed the sentences recommended by lawyers, she stated that she “would agree with that position without hesitation.”

She noted Carson’s repeated driving offenses, including four convictions for driving while prohibited, and his long-term struggle with addiction.

The judge said probation, which includes counseling, provides a means of rehabilitation.