229720
222576
Kamloops  

Motorcyclist who hit 230 km/h while fleeing police fined, prohibited from driving

230 km/h while fleeing cops

A Kamloops-area man who reached speeds of 230 km/h while fleeing police on a motorcycle near Cherry Creek won’t be allowed to drive for two years.

Richard Marshall, 44, pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Thursday to one count each of flight from police and driving while prohibited.

Court heard a Mountie was headed east on Highway 1 west of Kamloops on the afternoon of Aug. 18, 2021, when he spotted a motorcycle travelling at a high rate of speed.

Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet said the officer turned on his radar and clocked the motorcycle at 166 km/h.

The Mountie turned around to give chase and estimated the motorcycle to be travelling in excess of 200 km/h, watching as it passed another vehicle on a double-solid line.

The motorcycle eventually got stuck in a long line of traffic. Goulet said the officer saw the driver pulled over on the shoulder, appearing to prepare to turn around. He turned on his emergency equipment and stopped him.

“Mr. Marshall apologized to the officer,” Goulet said.

“He said he pulled over because he was aware of how dangerous he was driving and said he was driving 230 km/h.”

Marshall was a prohibited driver at the time, having lost his licence on a five-month prohibition about two months earlier.

In addition to the charges, he was ticketed for excessive speeding.

Court heard Marshall, who lives in Cherry Creek, has a lengthy criminal record including a number of serious driving offences. He was jailed for dangerous driving convictions twice in 2004 and again in 2005. He also served jail time for driving while prohibited convictions in 2008 and 2009.

Goulet asked Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame to impose a 12-month period of probation, a $1,000 fine and a three-year driving prohibition.

Defence lawyer John Gustafson agreed with the probation and fine but sought a shorter driving ban, in the range of 12 to 18 months.

Frame sentenced Marshall to a year-long probation term with a condition requiring he complete 25 hours of community service. She fined him $1,000 and prohibited him from driving for two years.

“You already didn’t have a licence and you were driving at those speeds, putting yourself at considerable risk on a motorcycle,” she said.

“I’m not sure you would have survived a crash.”



More Kamloops News

229439