شرمندگی دیگر برای کامیونیتی ایرانی در کانادا - امیر حکیمی به جرم مست رانندگی کردن و مجروح کردن یک نفر به 5 سال زندان محکوم شد.Born in Tehran, Iran, Hekmati has a master’s degree in commerce and ran a bookkeeping and accounting business in Toronto.
Serial drunk driver receives five-year jail sentence
A man convicted of drinking and driving for the fourth time has received a five-year prison sentence for a crash that left a Toronto father with a “catastrophic” brain injury.
Factoring in credit for the 25 months Amir Hekmati spent in pre-trial custody, he will serve another year in jail. He will then be prohibited from driving for eight years.
Hekmati, 54, “demonstrated more than just a momentary disregard for the lives and safety of others,” Superior Court Justice Nola Garton said Monday, reading from her 15-page judgment.
The Nov. 30, 2007, collision on Don Mills Rd., north of Lawrence Ave. E., involved six people and three vehicles, two of which were writeoffs. It is “astonishing” only one person suffered serious injuries, Garton said.
He is John Fraser, then a 52-year-old IBM employee and ski instructor, who now requires 24-hour-a-day supervision.
“The impact of the accused’s offences on Mr. Fraser and his family has been devastating,” Garton said.
Fraser, his wife and 11-year-old son were heading to a Christmas concert at the boy’s school when Hekmati’s vehicle sped past in excess of 100 km/h. The posted speed was 60 km/h.
Hekmati’s car clipped the left rear corner of the Frasers’ vehicle, causing it to mount the curb, roll over and crash into a southbound minivan.
Following a trial, Hekmati was convicted in June of impaired driving causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. He had 150 to 225 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system, about twice the legal limit.
His licence barred him from driving with any alcohol in his blood.
Hekmati had three prior convictions for drunk driving: one in 1990, for which he was fined $600; in 1992, for which he received a jail term of 14 days; and in 2002, for which he was fined $1,500 and prohibited from driving for one year.
Born in Tehran, Iran, Hekmati has a master’s degree in commerce and ran a bookkeeping and accounting business in Toronto.
Garton said one of the issues she faced was whether to grant Hekmati credit for pre-trial custody on a two-for-one basis. The charges were laid well before Feb. 22, 2010, when federal legislation ending the practice became law.
Taking into account all the circumstances, including the harsh conditions at the Toronto “Don” Jail, Garton said she was prepared to credit his pre-trial custody as the equivalent of a four-year sentence, which is just shy of granting him credit on a two-for-one basis.
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Five years?: If he spent 25 months in custody, and will spend another year in jail, then that is a three-year...… Israfel
The courts too often are to soft when handing out penalties to “repeat” offenders; part of their...… MJT
Justice System: This sentence should have been 25 years.… BenC.
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