In the News

Serial drunk driver sent to prison
By Steve Brice
The Chronicle Herald
February 13, 2010

A Colchester County man the Crown described as the "worst of the worst" drunk drivers in Nova Scotia has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for his latest brush with the law.

Terry Naugle, 52, was sentenced Friday afternoon in Dartmouth provincial court by Judge Frank Hoskins.

Naugle, of Salmon River Road in Valley, near Truro, pleaded guilty last October to impaired driving, leaving the scene of an accident and driving while prohibited.

He has 68 other criminal convictions going back to 1974, including 22 for impaired driving, failing the breathalyzer or refusing to provide a sample of his breath and 14 for driving while disqualified. He has served five federal prison terms.

"Given the number and the nature of his previous convictions, it is rather amazing that Mr. Naugle has not killed himself or others while operating a motor vehicle," the judge said.

"Nothing up to this point has deterred or discouraged him from reoffending. Indeed, the only gaps in his long criminal record . . . are when he was in prison.

"Obviously, Mr. Naugle does not recognize that continuing to operate a motor vehicle while impaired or disqualified is inappropriate behaviour and is unacceptable to society, or he simply does not care."

Hoskins said his paramount consideration must be protection of the public.

"There is little doubt that he is a menace to society when he is driving a motor vehicle," he said of Naugle. "If he does not break this long entrenched pattern of criminal misconduct, he will likely either seriously injure or kill himself and/or others."

Naugle’s record for impaired driving-related offences "is the worst that I have ever seen," the judge said.

"Hopefully, this sentence will send a very strong message to not only Mr. Naugle but to all like-minded individuals that repetitive, continuous impaired driving . . . will not be tolerated, as the risk of injury and/or death is just too great.

"In my view, the public should not have to wait until someone is seriously injured or killed to justify imposing a significant period of incarceration."

Naugle committed his latest offences on the evening of last March 28 when a Chevrolet Cavalier he was driving sideswiped a Honda Pilot that was stopped on an exit ramp off Highway 102 at Enfield.

The owners of the sport utility vehicle, the McMillan family of West Tatamagouche, Colchester County, were on their way home after a day of shopping in Halifax when the Honda ran out of gas.

David McMillan parked the SUV on the shoulder of the ramp and jogged to the nearby Irving Big Stop to get a can of gas while his wife Julia and daughter Jill remained in the vehicle with their seatbelts fastened.

Minutes later, as McMillan was returning to the Honda, Naugle’s car crashed into the driver’s side of the SUV and sped away.

McMillan ran back to the vehicle and, after his wife reassured him that she and Jill were OK, poured the fuel into the gas tank and took off after the Cavalier, which had pulled into the Big Stop parking lot.

Naugle fled on foot across Highway 102 and was pursued and arrested by RCMP officers who had been dining at the Big Stop.

The maximum penalty for each of the three offences Naugle pleaded guilty to is five years in prison.

He has been on remand at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth since the crash 10½ months ago.

The judge heard sentencing arguments Jan. 27 before reserving his decision until Friday.

Crown attorney Cheryl Byard had recommended a sentence of 10 years minus remand time while defence lawyer Peter Planetta had argued for four years less remand time.

Hoskins sentenced Naugle to five years on the impaired driving charge, 15 months consecutive for driving while prohibited and six months consecutive for failing to stop at the scene of the crash.

The sentence of six years and nine months is in addition to the 21 months’ double credit the judge gave Naugle for his remand time.

Hoskins also banned Naugle from driving for life and directed him to provide a sample of his DNA to police for a national databank.

He also ordered that Naugle’s vehicle be forfeited and that he pay restitution of $250 to the McMillans and $3,600 to their insurance company.

Outside court, the prosecutor said she was "very satisfied by the decision. . . . As I indicated last day, he was probably the worst of the worst known offenders in Nova Scotia."

Julia McMillan said it was a good day for her family but she found it disturbing to see Naugle smirk and smile at her during Friday’s hearing.

"That was my saddest point in there today, not seeing some remorse from him," she said.

"The judge had some backbone, I was really pleased to see. We’ve sent the message to Nova Scotians and maybe to Canadians that we’re not going to tolerate people driving drunk on our roads."

Margaret Miller, a Shubenacadie-area woman who is president of MADD Canada, also applauded the judge’s ruling.

"Hopefully this will stop other people from driving impaired and save lives," she said.