Lawyers suggest 5 years for fatal impaired driving case, after judge panned last proposal

Lawyers for the Crown and defence were back in court on Thursday to give their second round of sentencing submissions in the case of Rodney Constantine, after the judge sent them back to the drawing board over their last recommendation.

Judge Bruce Short had said the previous proposal of four years’ imprisonment was too lenient for a man who killed someone while driving drunk and showed little remorse in the aftermath.

Crown prosecutor Deidre Badcock and defence lawyer Dan Furey came back to provincial court this week with another year tacked on to their recommendation.

“We feel comfort in saying that this will actually bring closure to the family, and that this will not prolong the matter into an appeal court,” Badcock said.

The court heard Constantine was driving between 125 and 165 km/h after consuming about 15 drinks on Dec. 10, 2023, in St. John’s.

Mark Squires, a passenger in the car, was screaming and crying for him to stop the car and let him out. The car crashed into a house on Empire Avenue, flipped sideways and caught fire.

Constantine and another passenger, Andrew Squires, were injured. Mark Squires was killed.

Both lawyers addressed the court to explain why they believed five years was an appropriate sentence.

In her submissions, Badcock noted the previous recommendation of four years had been made before the Crown received a pre-sentence report on Constantine.

That report dug into Constantine’s background and was based around an interview with Constantine himself. Badcock said it had been described as one of the most negative pre-sentence reports the court has ever seen — noting Constantine shifted blame away from himself and onto others.

“His attitude in the pre-sentence report did not reflect the person who came to us initially and wished to plead guilty,” she said.

Badcock noted Constantine has an “atrocious” driving record, and was caught driving recklessly twice in the months following the fatal crash. In one case, he was pulled over for intentionally tailgating another vehicle and was found with thousands of dollars in cash and a package of cocaine in the car.

At his last court appearance, Short said Constantine’s post-crash actions suggested “it’s not about not understanding…. It’s about not giving a damn.”

Mark Squires became a father for the second time just days before the fatal crash.

Judge to take time making decision

It’s rare for a judge to reject a joint submission on sentencing.

The Supreme Court of Canada shaped the guidelines on joint recommendations in a 2016 case, in which the court wrote: “A trial judge should not depart from a joint submission on sentence unless the proposed sentence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute or would otherwise be contrary to the public interest.”

After examining similar cases, Badcock said the appropriate range for Constantine’s sentence would be between three and seven years.

While the facts of his case point to the higher end of the spectrum, she said the court must consider the impact of a guilty plea sparing the family and the surviving victim from a trial.

“He is living a nightmare,” Badcock said of Andrew Squires. “From the Crown’s perspective, I think there is a lot of value in not having to revictimize the victim.”

Short said he wasn’t prepared to make a decision on Thursday. He said he wanted to take more time to review the submissions from both sides and carefully explain the sentence he ultimately lands on.

“This case, like many other cases, will be referred to and will be considered in terms of future cases and what types of sentences might be appropriate,” Short said. “It’s one thing for the court to impose a sentence, but to not give adequate reasons … really doesn’t serve anyone after the fact.”

Short will render his decision on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m NT.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.