Photo: The Canadian Press

A North Vancouver woman who drove drunk to her court hearing on drunk driving charges has been handed a three-year driving ban and a $2,000 fine.

Deborah Gail Reynolds was handed the sentence by Judge Bryce Dyer after Reynolds pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to having a blood alcohol level over .08 within two hours of driving.

The incident happened on March 29 this year when the 57-year-old was supposed to attend North Vancouver provincial court to plead guilty to previous charges of impaired driving and driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 in North Vancouver on July 31, 2017.

But when Reynolds showed up in court, the judge decided Reynolds was too drunk to go ahead with the hearing, said Crown prosecutor Brent Anderson.

The prosecutor that day agreed, he said, warning Reynolds, “Do not drive... because you’re clearly intoxicated.”

Despite those warnings, Reynolds left the courthouse and got into her vehicle, said Anderson, where she was confronted by a second Crown counsel at her driver’s side window “who also told her not to drive.”

Ignoring the warnings, Reynolds drove away from the courthouse, prompting prosecutors to call the North Vancouver RCMP.

Police went to her home in the Ravenwoods complex, approximately 10 km from the courthouse, and were there when Reynolds drove up.

Officers pulled her over and gave her a roadside breath test, which she failed, said Anderson.

After being taken back to the RCMP detachment, Reynolds blew two breath samples, including one which registered a blood alcohol level of .24 – three times the legal limit.

Anderson said Reynolds didn’t have a valid driver’s licence or insurance at the time.

Police handed her tickets for both infractions as well as a 24-hour driving ban and a 90-day administrative suspension for impaired driving.

Anderson noted Reynolds narrowly escaped a mandatory jail sentence for the March incident at the courthouse, while noting a $2,000 fine is mandatory minimum in a case with higher blood alcohol readings.