A man who tried to flee from police in a stolen truck on April Fool's was sentenced Friday to 14 months in jail for dangerous driving.
Mitchell Paul Gagne, 22 was also prohibited from driving for five years and received concurrent jail terms from provincial court judge Dan Weatherly of one year for possession of stolen property, six months for flight from a peace officer and 36 days for breach of probation
It all began at about 5 a.m. on April 1 when Prince George RCMP were called to a report of break-in to a barn on Angus Road in the West Lake area where an all-terrain vehicle valued at almost $8,000 and a snowblower valued at $1,700 were stolen.
During the noon hour the same day, police got word that a 1997 Dodge pickup had been stolen from a home in the 1400 block of Diefenbaker Drive sometime overnight or that morning. The shed on the property was also broken into.
By about 7 p.m., members of the RCMP's crime reduction team spotted the vehicle as it was being driven on Queensway.
The truck's driver ran a red light at the corner of Winnipeg Street and 13th Avenue and collided with a white Chevrolet Impala Prince George.
Gagne then tried to flee on foot, but was located and arrested nearby.
When police checked the stolen pickup, they found the ATV from Angus Road inside.
In September 2010, Gagne was sentenced to six months in jail and 18 months probation for possession of stolen property over $5,000 and driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act from an August 2010 incident.
- with files from Frank Peebles.
