Crown wants dangerous offender status for Quebec drunk driver

A Quebec man who killed a woman in a wheelchair while driving drunk in fall should be declared a dangerous offender, Crown prosecutors say.

Roger Walsh, 56, has pleaded guilty to 19 charges of impaired driving over the years, including in the case of Anee Khudaverdian.

The 47-year-old mother, who used a wheelchair, died in October after she was hit by Walsh's vehicle while taking her dog for a walk on the side of the road in the small community of Les Cèdres, west of Montreal.

Walsh pleaded guilty in December to impaired driving and fleeing the scene of an accident in the case.

At his sentencing hearing Tuesday, prosecutor Joey Dubois informed the court of the Crown's intention to seek dangerous offender status, which would give Walsh an indefinite sentence.

In order to designate someone a dangerous offender, the court must find the person is a threat to public safety through an established pattern of violent criminal behaviour. A person who has been convicted of a serious personal injury offence may be declared a dangerous offender if the offence is punishable by 10 years imprisonment or more. Most Canadians who have received the designation committed multiple sexual assaults.

Walsh's defence lawyer, Jacques Vinet, said if the judge agrees with prosecutors, it would be the first time in Quebec that a court declared someone a dangerous offender for a history of vehicle-related offences.

"I was very surprised," he told reporters outside court. "It is very particular because as far as I know, and from my research, I don't see any cases like that in Quebec for now."

Courts in Alberta, Ontario have considered question

Prosecutors in Alberta and Ontario have asked courts for dangerous offender status for repeat drunk drivers. However, the courts have ordered long-term offender status instead.

Long-term offender status can be handed down in cases in which a court finds that a person who commits repeated violent crimes has a reasonable chance of rehabilitation. People given the designation can be put under court-ordered supervision for 10 years after the original prison sentence ends. The original sentence must exceed 10 years.

In June 2008, a judge in Slave Lake, Alta., designated Raymond Charles Yellowknee a long-term offender and sentenced him to 20½ years in prison after he killed four people while driving drunk.

In 2003, an Ontario man was also the subject of a dangerous offender hearing after several convictions for non-fatal impaired driving. He accepted the lesser designation of long-term offender in a plea bargain.

Family says designation would send message

Members of the Khudaverdian family hope the Quebec case will set a new precedent.

Sara Khudaverdian, the victim's mother, said the designation would send the right message to Walsh and other drunk drivers.

"My daughter is not going to come back. That will [set] an example and teach somebody else not to do the same," she told reporters.

"He killed an innocent woman with a little girl left behind. She cannot see mommy anymore. [Anee] will not be there to cheer at her graduation nor to put on her wedding dress or hold her grandchildren."

The victim's sister, Clara Khudaverdian, said she doesn't believe it is excessive to name Walsh a dangerous offender, even though the designation is most often given to people who commit sexual offences.

"A person who drives drunk is dangerous. It's criminal, and it's repetitive behaviour. He's a dangerous offender, yes," she said.

Judge Michel Mercier adjourned court Tuesday to allow the defence and prosecutors time to prepare arguments on whether Walsh should undergo a psychiatric evaluation, a step in the designation process.

Court will resume on Feb. 5.