Jennifer Ann Sims pleads guilty to impaired driving with kids in car

A Cole Harbour woman has pleaded guilty to impaired driving after an incident last year in which her two children were in the car. 

Jennifer Ann Sims was arrested in April 2014 after an officer saw a car stopped in the middle of Forest Hills Parkway, near Chameau Crescent in Cole Harbour.

An eight-month-old baby and a 13-year-old child were also in the car. They were taken away by police.

Sims was arrested and provided breath samples that police said were five times the legal blood-alcohol limit.

Crown prosecutor Robert Kennedy says he'll be asking for between 18 months and two years in jail.

"This is a situation where there were many aggravating factors, including the very high readings," he said.

"There was two children in the car as well, an eight month old baby as well as well as a 13 year old son. There's prior convictions as well. So we're seeking something in the high provincial or federal range."

According to court documents, this is the fourth time in five years that Sims has been charged with impaired driving-related offences.

She was convicted of impaired driving in March 2009 after a traffic stop a month earlier in Westphal, outside Dartmouth.

In September 2012, she pleaded guilty to two charges: having a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 in connection with an incident in September 2010 and refusing the breathalyzer in May 2011.

Sims's sentencing has been delayed until Sept. 8 pending a pre-sentence report. 

Kennedy says an addictions counsellor is expected to give evidence.

Sims's lawyer advised the court she'll be applying for a curative discharge.

The court will hear the defence's application during the sentencing hearing. A curative discharge would allow the judge to impose less than the minimum sentence, which the Crown says is four months. Kennedy says he plans to oppose that application.