A New Westminster man sentenced to four years in prison for driving drunk and killing an Ontario grandmother visiting her son and new grandchild in Burnaby was out of custody in less than a year and is now appealing his four-year driving ban, according to a recent B.C. Court of Appeal ruling.
Roberto Gil Francisco, 42, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to criminal negligence causing death and was sentenced the following month to four years in prison and a four-year driving ban.
The charge relates to a June 7, 2019 crash that killed Louise Landreth, a 69-year-old retired Harrington, Ont. accountant who had been visiting family in North Burnaby.
Francisco, with a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, was driving his BMW sedan at about 167 km/h on Lougheed Highway near Brentwood Mall when the vehicle jumped the curb and fatally struck Landreth, who had been out for a walk, according to agreed facts presented at a sentencing hearing.
Landreth was pronounced dead at the scene.
Francisco, who was released from custody on Jan. 12, 2023, is now in the process of appealing his driving ban, according to a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling by Justice Barbara Fisher last Tuesday.
The ruling notes Francisco has been an auto mechanic for nearly 20 years and “is required to have a driver’s licence.”
“While the prohibition is in effect, he is unable to work in this field,” states the ruling.
There was a “substantial” delay in Francisco filing for his appeal, so he had to apply for an extension.
“Mr. Francisco explains that he intended to appeal the prohibition but was unable to take steps to research the merits, reach his counsel or retain appellate counsel while he was in prison,” states the ruling. “He began doing so after he was released from custody.”
Fisher said Francisco’s circumstances were not an acceptable excuse for the lengthy delay, but she ruled the extension “would be in the interests of justice” because of two recent conflicting appeals court rulings in other provinces that make it unclear whether Francisco’s sentencing judge had the jurisdiction to impose the discretionary driving ban.
The Crown also didn’t oppose the extension.
“Given the lack of clarity in the current jurisprudence, I agree with the parties that it would be in the interests of justice for this court to hear the issue and provide some certainty to the law in this province,” Fisher said.
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