John Riley Sanderson was escorted by two Deputy Sheriffs when he left Court of King's Bench on Tuesday. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

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A man whose criminal record is six pages long and dates back over 20 years, has received a new sentence of three years and nine months for a pair of incidents that occurred in La Ronge in late 2022.

However with credit for time spent on remand, John Riley Sanderson has less than two years to serve.

The 36-year-old, who appeared Tuesday at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert, was initially scheduled to face trial however, lawyers were able to work out a joint submission. Guilty pleas were entered to a number of offences including theft of a motor vehicle, assault by way of choking, flight from police and dangerous driving.

With respect to Sanderson’s criminal record, Crown Prosecutor Stephanie Lavallee noted a three-year sentence for impaired driving causing death (2008), as well as other past convictions for dangerous driving and assaulting a police officer.

Lavallee further explained that in addition to being well known to police in La Ronge, Sanderson had also been flagged by the Crown prosecutor’s office in Regina.

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Stating that while on remand Sanderson had taken steps to complete his Grade 12 diploma and despite limited opportunities to access programming, had expressed interest in getting help, defence lawyer Loree Richardson said Sanderson was very remorseful for his actions. She also noted the oldest of his two children was beginning to ask questions.

“When are you gonna come home and be my dad,” Richardson read, adding the mother has made it very clear he can only have access after he cleans up his ways.

Delving deeper into Sanderson’s past, Richardson explained his grandparents, who had raised him, attended residential school and struggled with addictions and poverty.

At the age of 10, Sanderson was transferred to foster care where he was exposed to physical discipline for not following the rules such as not attending church or breaking curfew. And by the age of 15, Sanderson started drinking and later experimented with drugs such as cocaine and mushrooms.

With respect to the impaired driving conviction, Richardson confirmed the victim was Sanderson’s sister and the incident to this day has caused turmoil within the family and left Sanderson with immense feelings of guilt.

Providing some explanation for the flight from police charge in Dec. 7, 2022, while Sanderson was behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle, Richardson stated Sanderson’s history with police was not good, and due to an experience of being roughed up, had very little trust in the police.

Richardson also touched on Sanderson’s time spent as a youth in custody, and said for him it was a home away from home, representing a place where he could get regular meals and positive support.

When give the opportunity in court to speak, Sanderson said he had great remorse for his actions and upon being released from jail, was focused on moving in a positive direction with his life.

Accepting Sanderson’s show of remorse, Justice LW Zuk reminded Sanderson kids benefit when both the mother and father are at home. Zuk also noted the impact the grandparents had on Sanderson’s who in turn have impacted to him, and now he is in a position to impact his children.

“Only you can change that,” he said.

Upon his release from custody, Sanderson will be prohibited from driving for a period of five years, and he is prohibited for life from owning or possessing any guns or explosives.

A recommendation was also made for Sanderson to serve a portion of his sentence at an in-patient addictions treatment centre where he can get counselling and support for addictions and anger management.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell