Jaunt into forest nets Barrhead man jail sentence

BARRHEAD - A Barrhead man received 15 days in jail in connection with a November incident that saw him flee from arrest on foot.

Justice Carrie-Ann Downey sentenced Joeseph Michael Rolof to 15 days in jail, accepting a joint Crown-defence submission after he pleaded guilty to obstructing a peace officer during a July 23 Barrhead Court of Justice session July 23.

However, as Rolof has spent 41 real days in custody and when  Downey credited his time at 1.5 enhanced credit, he is in a time-served situation. She also waived the victim fine surcharge, calling it an unnecessary hardship as he has not been employed for some time.

The Crown also withdrew a charge of resisting a peace officer.

Rolof will be back in Barrhead Court of Justice on Aug. 13 to speak to bail on several other charges.

The facts

Student-at-law Sergii Tokar for the Crown, overseen by prosecutor Andrea Melchionna, said that on Nov. 11, 2023, a Barrhead fish and wildlife officer conducted a traffic stop on Rolof. The officer noted that he had an outstanding warrant from Drayton Valley and then called for Barrhead RCMP to attend.

"[Rolof] gave the fish and wildlife officer a false name to avoid being arrested," Tokar said, adding when the wildlife officer attempted to arrest the accused, he fled into the forest on the east side of Highway 763.

The Crown added that when police found Rolof sometime later, with the assistance of an RCMP dog unit, he was 13 kilometres away from where he was initially stopped.

Tokar said the Crown is seeking 15 days in custody, considering the mitigating factor of the early guilty plea and some initial confusion by Rolof about his status.

"The matter went to warrant due to a misunderstanding between Mr. Rolof and his previous lawyer," he said. "Mr. Rolof took off because he did not want to go to jail because of that misunderstanding." 

The defence

Buchanan agreed that there seemed to be some confusion between Mr. Rolof and his previous counsel, saying an error by his previous council was why the Drayton Valley issue went to warrant.

He also noted that his client, once released, would be staying that he would be staying with his grandparents.

"He has a young child, born about a month ago, and he has advised that since the incident, he has made several changes to try to turn his life around," Buchanan said.

Speaking on his own behalf, Rolof, appearing via closed-circuit TV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, said he was "sorry for everything."

"I was scared to be arrested because one of the [Barrhead RCMP officers] is not very nice, and I was very scared of him, so I ran away," he said.

Downey called the joint submission a fit and appropriate sentence using the Anthony-Cook Supreme Court of Canada ruling as a guide.

She also noted Rolof's early plea as a mitigating factor, adding that his criminal record, including multiple convictions for similar offences, was aggravating.

Specifically, Downey called attention to a 2019 conviction for obstruction of a peace officer for which he received a $500 fine and two other convictions for obstruction of a peace officer in 2021 for which he received two 15-day sentences served consecutively.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com