Dangerous driving results in nine month jail sentence for Penticton man

PENTICTON – A Penticton man will spend nine months behind bars after fleeing police in a high-speed attempt to get away.

Alan Ronald Greenlees, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and one count of driving while prohibited in Penticton court yesterday, July 4.

Crown prosecutor Kurt Froehlich told court Greenlees was a prohibited driver on May 1, 2018, when he was pulled over at a traffic stop in Kelowna. Police identified Greenlees then as a prohibited and suspended driver. He was arrested and later released.

On June 5, 2018 Penticton RCMP spotted Greenlees behind the wheel of a vehicle parked on Government Street.

Police followed him to a convenience store on Main Street, but when they attempted to apprehend him, he fled the scene, spinning his tires and reversing his vehicle at a high rate of speed through a nearby alley onto Eckhardt Avenue.

He then drove west on Eckhardt, again at a high rate of speed, and was eventually arrested when police caught up with him on foot in a Calgary Avenue backyard.

Froehlich noted Greenlees criminal record, which included numerous dangerous driving convictions in requesting nine months in jail, a sentence offered to Judge Cathaline Heinrichs as a joint submission between Crown and defence.

Defence lawyer Ben Lynskey said his client had little to offer in defence, “There’s not much to say, the circumstances speak for themselves.”

Lynskey said his client found not being able to drive a major hardship as his occupation as a concrete finisher involved moving from job site to job site.

He said Greenlees suffered from several health issues including a hernia and a previous lung infection, in addition to having a methamphetamine addiction. He also pointed out Greenlees’ flight from police involved a brief period of driving.

Judge Heinrichs agreed to the joint submission.

Along with nine months in jail, Greenlees was handed a 10-year driving prohibition.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.