HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Justice Critic Murray Scott said he has waited a week with no response from Justice Minister Ross Landry on whether he intends to have Nova Scotia’s Crown Prosecution Service file a Dangerous Offender application against a 52-year-old Colchester man with a record of 22 impaired driving convictions.
Scott said Terrence Lee Naugle is a threat to the public, having amassed a total of 68 criminal convictions over the past 36 years. More than half of those convictions involved impaired or disqualified driving; he will be sentenced Feb. 12 for a hit-and-run incident that occurred last year while driving under the influence.
Scott said Nova Scotians should never again have to share the road with someone so reckless.
“Mr. Naugle has proven he has no regard for the safety of others, or the multiple penalties and driving restrictions that have been imposed by the courts over the years," Scott said. These penalties include five federal prison terms.
“I think Crown Attorney Cheryl Byard summed it up best when she referred to him as, 'the worst of the worst known offenders when it comes to impaired drivers in Nova Scotia.'”
For that reason, Scott is urging the justice minister to have Nova Scotia’s Crown Prosecution Service to seek a Dangerous Offender application, which is used in cases where repeat offenders are found to pose a significant risk to public safety.
The first step is an application for a 60-day psychiatric assessment; once this report is complete, it is returned to the court and the Crown uses it to determine whether an application should proceed. If it does proceed, the offender can then be incarcerated indefinitely.
"There are few cases that would more adequately fit the definition of Dangerous Offender than that of Terry Naugle," Scott said. "After 68 convictions, it is no longer a question of rehabilitation; it is the minister's responsibility to ensure he is stopped."
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For more information, please contact:
Janna MacGregor
Public Relations Officer
NS Progressive Conservative Caucus
Tel: 902.424.5238
Cell: 902.499.9948
Fax: 902.424.7484
macgrejl@gov.ns.ca
