A man has been issued jail time and a driving prohibition for getting into a tangle with Prince George RCMP that could have turned out much worse.
Justin Edward Pawluck was sentenced last week to 18 months in jail for assaulting a peace officer with a weapon by running his vehicle into two officers during a Dec. 6, 2020 traffic stop in the 3700 block of Lansdowne Road.
He was also prohibited from driving for three years.
Police said at the time that suspecting Pawluck was a prohibited driver, he was pulled over. But when an officer approached to speak to him, Pawluck hit the gas and the officer was struck in the arm with the side mirror.
Pawluck then struck a vehicle driven by a second RCMP officer who had tried to block him in.
Fortunately, neither member sustained serious injury although Pawluck got away.
His vehicle was found abandoned a short time later and RCMP issued a press release asking for the public's help in tracking him down.
Pawluck was eventually found and had been in custody on the counts for roughly 10 1/2 months prior to sentencing.
Pawluck also continues to serve a 19-month jail term, issued in January, for possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. Three years probation follows the end of that term.
And Pawluck continues to face trafficking and firearms charges from an October 2020 drug bust at a home in South Fort George. That matter is set for a trial in November.
The most-recent terms were issued in Kelowna provincial court where the judge who has been seized with the matter now presides.
