Man gets eight years for driving at officers

August 19, 2010 Brantford Expositor

A man who deliberately drove at Six Nations' police cruisers during two separate incidents was sentenced to eight years in penitentiary Wednesday.

Burt Carter, 28, is a northern native with no fixed address who confessed to a long list of crimes racked up over the last three or four years, including at least four high-speed chases on the Six Nations territory.

His most serious crime, said Crown attorney Bob Kindon, occurred in November 2008 when he was being chased by the Six Nations Police.

As officers pursued Carter in a stolen vehicle, they crested a hill to find him blocking their path.

Carter turned his vehicle toward the police cruiser and rammed it a number of times, eventually pushing it into a ditch where an auxiliary officer was trapped in the car.

The other officer drew his gun and fired at Carter to try and keep him away.

"The victim impact statements filed by the officers are very telling to the court," said Kindon.

"These men were fearful for their lives and it was a moment in their career they will never forget."

Earlier that same year, in August, Carter drove straight at the police officers who were pursuing him, causing them to draw their firearms to protect themselves. That time, Carter was driving a stolen Trailblazer and the chase was called off due to safety concerns.

"A police officer's worst nightmare is out on the road when someone like Mr. Carter doesn't flee. He's trying to get them."

Other charges on his list included robbing a variety store where he injured the store owner by throwing the cash register; committing four break and enters on Manitoulin Island and additional possession of stolen vehicles or driving while disqualified.

Finally, in February 2009 Carter was again racing away from police in a stolen vehicle when he ran into a cement cistern, disabling his ride. He was caught a short time later.

Kindon noted that Carter already had three previous convictions for dangerous driving and four others for possession of stolen vehicles.

"I reviewed his record and every single probation order has been breached since 2005," noted the Crown attorney.

Kindon said the type of high speed chases Carter has been involved in present a dangerous situation for the law-abiding people of Six Nations and asked Justice Martha Zivolak to reflect that in her sentencing.

"Mr. Carter is endangering the lives of the public, I can't state it any more simply than that. Any innocent person driving those roads can be caught up in the pursuit and killed or maimed. It's only by luck or good fortune he hasn't killed somebody."

Defence lawyer Dale Henderson characterized his client as a young man addicted to oxycodone and who sometimes seems to have given up on himself.

Henderson also hinted that Carter was like a person caught up in a grow-op situation.

"He's a 'farmer' while there are others profiting from these operations."

Henderson urged the judge to consider the 18 months Carter has been in custody as three years of time served and give him another three or four years.

Carter had nothing to say to the judge before she pronounced sentence.

Zivolak said she was taking into consideration Carter guilty pleas, his aboriginal heritage, his relative youth and his hard-knock life.

But she noted that statistical evidence presented by the Crown attorney show a clear problem on Six Nations with highspeed chases.

She added that although the 20 charges, if taken individually, could add up to more than 14 years in prison, she would use the concept of totality to reduce the sentence.

"The last charge against you is particularly serious in nature and there has to be a message sent to others."

Zivolak sentenced Carter to the 18 months of time he's spent in custody which, credited at 2-for-1, since he was under the old system of giving extra credit for presentence custody.

Carter was also sentenced to an additional eight years in custody and, when released, he'll be have at least a five-year driving prohibition. The province may opt for a different punishment, and can suspend him for life if it chooses.

Carter must also provide a DNA sample for the national offenders' registry.