Chronic drunk driver not a dangerous offender
By Karen Kleiss
edmontonjournal.com
June 12, 2008

SLAVE LAKE - A judge has ruled that a chronic drunk driver who killed a mother and her three daughters in an alcohol-fuelled crash is not a dangerous offender.

Provincial Court Judge Ernie Walter said Raymond Charles Yellowknee satisfies the criteria to be designated a dangerous offender, but he used his judicial discretion and decided not to label him one. In part, Walter based this decision on the fact that Yellowknee is not a psychopath and is treatable.

Walters instead declared Yellowknee a long-term offender. He was sentenced to 20.5 years in prison, reduced to 16 years after credit for pretrial custody. He will also spend 10 years in supervision after his release and is banned from driving for the rest of his life.

Yellowknee, 35, pleaded guilty to 18 charges in connection with the January 2006 collision, including four counts of drunk driving causing death.

The guilty plea topped a criminal record that included three drunk driving convictions dating back to 1994. In one case, police believe Yellowknee was deliberately attempting to cause a collision in order to escape RCMP.

If Calgary-based Crown prosecutor Jonathan Hak had been successful in his controversial bid to have Yellowknee labelled a dangerous offender, it would have been the first time a Canadian was jailed indefinitely for chronic drunk driving.

The vast majority of dangerous offenders - 81 per cent - are sex offenders believed to be so dangerous that they must be imprisoned before they commit another crime and hurt someone. They are believed to be beyond salvation.

They face a true life sentence. After seven years they can apply for parole, but only 33 of the country's 352 dangerous offenders have persuaded the parole board they are fit to rejoin society, Corrections Canada says.

Yellowknee's defence lawyer, Laurie Wood, argued a dangerous-offender designation for impaired drivers would open the floodgates across the country, and do little to benefit society.

The real problem, she says, is that Yellowknee was incarcerated for much of his life and the system did little to help address his addictions and prepare for life in the community.

The collision occurred on Jan. 20, 2006, the day Yellowknee got out of jail. He had been drinking all day and by 5 p.m., he was staggering around the Sawridge Truck Stop, a bottle of Silk Tassel Rye tucked into his jacket, trying to hitch a ride up to Wabasca.

Minutes later, he was behind the wheel of a stolen white pickup truck, speeding west out of Slave Lake on Highway 2 with the police in pursuit, lights on, sirens blaring. He fishtailed, hit the shoulder, shot over the yellow line and slammed head-on into a black car.

He killed everyone inside. Misty Chalifoux, 28, died instantly, as did two of her daughters - nine-year-old Trista Chalifoux and 13-year-old Michelle Lisk. Daughter Larissa, 6, was airlifted to hospital. She died the next day.

Yellowknee's blood alcohol level was .22 that night, nearly triple the legal limit of .08.