Photo: KTW file

Kamloops provincial court

A Kamloops-area man has been ordered to spend a month in jail for his sixth driving while prohibited conviction — but he’ll be allowed to serve the time on weekends.

Roberto Gasparin pleaded guilty Thursday in Kamloops provincial court to one count of driving while prohibited.

Court heard a Mountie clocked a pickup truck going 82 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on Dallas Drive on Sept. 23.

“The officer activated his emergency lights and pursued the pickup truck, which attempted to evade the officer, driving behind a business,” Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet said in court.

"The driver, later identified as Mr. Gasparin, exited the driver’s side door of the vehicle and fled on foot. The officer was able to chase him down and arrest him.”

Gasparin has five previous driving while prohibited convictions on his criminal record, most recently last June, when he was sentenced to 30 days intermittent — meaning he could serve the jail time on weekends.

This time around, Goulet asked Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame to make Gasparin serve straight time.

“Intermittent sentences do not seem to be working for Mr. Gasparin,” he said.

“To his credit, he has completed them, but they have not deterred him from driving while prohibited.”

Defence lawyer Dustin Gagnon pleaded with Frame to allow another intermittent sentence.

“He doesn’t have anyone to care for his dog while he is away, and he has to put the dog in a kennel while he is incarcerated,” he said.

“He tells me his dog does not do well with other dogs and he would rather not see him kennelled for long periods.”

Gagnon also pointed to a staph bacteria Gasparin has as another reason to let him serve the sentence on weekends.

“He becomes very sensitive to temperature when he is having a flareup,” he said. “When he has served time in custody he has found the temperatures not regulated as well as at home, and it causes quite a bit of discomfort for him.”

Frame went along with the intermittent time, but warned Gasparin this was his last such chance.

“You’re not allowed to drive, and if you can’t get anyone to take you where you need to go, you need to think about the judgement call you make and the impact that’s going to have — not only on yourself, but your dog,” she said.

“Deterrence is part of the sentence, and if you don’t stop doing this, deterrence is not working.”

Gasparin, who lives in Enderby, was also ordered to pay a $500 fine and prohibited from driving for a further 12 months.