Kelowna motorcyclist films himself speeding, incriminates himself, ends up behind bars

A Kelowna motorcyclist with a penchant for extreme speeds and lengthy wheelies has found out that filming your every move isn’t wise.

The motorcyclist had evaded capture, but when police finally caught up with him months after receiving their first complaint, his GoPro camera provided them with all the evidence they needed.

Instead of a single ticket for excessive speed or dangerous driving, Christopher Blair Muir’s video footage provided police with weeks of his reckless driving antics.

On March 30, Muir appeared in a Kelowna courtroom from custody as Crown prosecutor Catherine Rezansoff read out a lengthy list of Muir’s driving offences.

“He travels at 253 kilometres per hour in a 60 kilometres per hour zone,” the Crown told the court. “The GoPro captures the speed at Glenmore Road near Union Road.”

The prosecutor continued.

“He drives over 180 kilometres per hour in the north end of downtown Kelowna, 184 kilometres per hour on Wendell Place, which is a 50 kilometres per hour posted speed. He travels at 194 kilometres per hour on Richter Street between Wendell Place and Cambridge Avenue,” Rezansoff said.

At one point, he stopped for a burnout on Poplar Point Drive.

“He does wheelies at 123 kilometres per hour on Manhattan Drive,” the Crown said. “And both streets are narrow and in close proximity to a large number of residential high-rises.

“He does wheelies at high speeds on Ellis Street, north of Clement Ave, and then returns to his residence.”

Police were waiting for him when he got home, and he wasn’t pleased to see them.

“(He) said he wasn’t driving a motorbike, then resisted arrest,” Rezansoff said.

Wearing an armoured motorcycle jacket and a full-face motorcycle helmet made his arrest difficult. 

Muir put up a lot of resistance and didn’t stop after being told he would be tasered. The struggle landed him and the officer inside his apartment, where Muir protested that now that he was at home, he couldn’t be arrested. 

Finally, he was pinned down and handcuffed.

The RCMP found a knife and brass knuckles on him, along with some individually wrapped packages of suspected drugs. 

And it was all captured on his GoPro.

There was no explanation given in court as to why it took so long, the incidents happened in 2022, but last year Muir was charged with resisting arrest, possessing a knife, and four counts of dangerous driving. There was no mention of any drug-related charges in court.

Police used Muir’s GoPro footage – which he also posted to Facebook and TikTok – to secure charges for much of the evidence presented in court.

The Crown prosecutor said when Muir looked down, the helmet-mounted camera clocked the motorbike’s speedometer.

In the years since the incidents, Muir had lost his licence and been banned from driving.

Muir pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and one count of dangerous driving.

However, after underscoring the dangers of Muir’s driving, the Crown prosecutor put forward a joint submission with the defence for three months’ jail.

It didn’t impress Provincial Court Judge Monica McParland, who called the suggested sentence “way low.”

“Tell me how three months is appropriate,” the judge said sternly. “Do your best. You’re on notice.”

In Canada, judges largely have to follow joint submissions except in extreme circumstances. Judge McParland said she was concerned about the submission.

The Crown relayed how some of the evidence was circumstantial, and the guilty plea meant police wouldn’t have to authenticate all of the speed limits seen in the video.

Rezansoff also pointed out that much of Muir’s driving was done safely, and he hadn’t been speeding the entire time.

“I don’t care,” the judge said. “That’s not mitigating, this is not somebody who accidentally is going downhill on the Coquihalla and for a moment goes 160 km/h.”

Defence lawyer Michael Stevenson made his case, stating Muir slowed down for other vehicles and was always shoulder-checking.

“The wheelies are not long-duration wheelies,” the defence lawyer said. 

“But they’re done in residential areas,” the judge replied.

The defence lawyer said the 39-year-old was remorseful, and since the incidents, had leart better.

“It’s an interesting case. It’s really hard to find cases on point because most people don’t film themselves speeding,” the defence lawyer said.

When asked if he wanted to say anything, Muir didn’t help his case.

“The calibration of my speedometer on that motorcycle was way off,” Muir told the judge.

He said changing the sprockets and the tire size affects the speedometer.

“Because some of these speeds, they’re even shocking to me because I know for a fact… I don’t have the skill level to be doing wheelies at these speeds,” he said.

Judge McParland wasn’t impressed, pointing out that Muir was either pleading guilty and admitting to the facts, or he wasn’t.

Muir quickly said he was admitting to the facts.

While the judge’s decision to accept the joint submission would have likely seen Muir released that day on time served, McParland said she had “bad news” for everyone.

“I’m not giving a decision today,” the judge said.

The case was adjourned, and Muir will find out his fate at a later date.