Jail for Kelowna drug dealer who used Porsche as weapon

A Kelowna drug dealer will spend 21 months behind bars for using his Porsche as a weapon in an assault which appears to have been born out of jealousy.

Nigel Myron Holubitsky was found guilty earlier this year of deliberately driving his Porsche Cayenne into Austin Peterson before crashing into a Kelowna business in April 2022.

In the early hours of that morning, Holubitsky had an argument with his then-girlfriend outside a nearby convenience store. His girlfriend had then taken a taxi to an address on Enterprise Road and Holubitsky had followed.

When Peterson came out of his apartment to pay the cab, Holubitsky directed his Porsche towards Peterson and put his foot on the gas. Peterson hit the SUVs hood before it crashed through the storefront window.

At the Kelowna courthouse, Sept. 17, BC Provincial Court Judge Cathaline Heinrichs said it was incredible that Peterson wasn’t seriously injured or killed.

The judge said Holubitsky’s actions were clearly meant to intimidate his girlfriend or anyone associated with her.

After the crash, Holubitsky took off and Peterson staggered to his second-floor apartment. When police arrived, they followed the trail of blood to his door, although he refused to cooperate with the police.

When the RCMP arrived at Holubitsky’s door the next day, he lied and said he hadn’t seen his vehicle in a few days.

He later told the court he should have been honest with the police but was scared.

The 44-year-old was later convicted of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and mischief.

During an earlier court appearance, Holubitsky said he knew he’d made a mistake, but that didn’t mean he was a bad person.

Judge Heinrichs agreed.

“However, his decision to drive his vehicle directly into Mr. Peterson and into the business storefront was a bad decision, and that action is what is deserving of punishment and correction,” the Judge said.

The court heard how the crash had caused the business, Code Ninjas, $67,000 in damage and a further $32,000 in lost income.

Code Ninjas, which was a coding school for children, had only opened three months earlier, and the owners said she was left “devastated, fearful, worried, and stressed.” Code Ninjas never recovered from the incident and closed down a year and a half later.

Judge Heinrichs said that while Holubitsky expressed some remorse for the business owner, he gave no indication how he might repair the harm that he caused.

“Similarly, no submissions were made about how Mr. Holubitsky could repair the harm to Mr. Peterson. In contrast, Mr. Holubitsky commented that since this event, Mr. Peterson has become a pain in his life, banging on the door at all hours of the night,” the judge said. “Mr. Holubitsky had an opportunity to express some remorse for the injury he caused to Mr. Peterson and the potential risk to Mr. Peterson’s life, but has instead chosen to put Mr. Peterson in a bad light.”

The court heard how Holubitsky had a lengthy criminal record, including periods in prison for drug dealings and a four-year sentence for weapons offences.

He submitted three positive character letters to the court, but Judge Heinrichs described them as either too vague or as providing an unwarranted opinion.

“We have heard little about what Mr. Holubitsky is doing that demonstrates a better path,” she said.

The judge said he had failed to turn up on two occasions for a pre-sentence report and she knew little about his life except his lawyer had said he was working as a plumber.

The 44-year-old had a 25-year-old son and had recently become a grandfather. He’d previously suffered from addiction issues but was now sober.

Ultimately, Judge Heinrichs sentenced him to 21 months jail, followed by a three-year driving ban.

In a rare move, the judge refused to wipe a $200 victim surcharge, pointing out he lived in a new apartment on Clement Avenue and drove a Porsche. However, when his lawyer said he would be unable to pay as he would be in prison, and the judge recanted.

Holubitsky will be back in court next year on two separate cases, one for drunk driving and the other for drug dealing.