It was a crash that caused thousands of dollars in damages to the Lakeview Market in Kelowna’s Mission.
The person at the wheel was Walter Cole Mitchell — a 32-year-old father of two with a lengthy criminal record.
On Thursday, he was sentenced for his act of recklessness committed in April 2015.
“He has a problem with drugs,” Mitchell’s lawyer Michael Newcombe said. “And when that problem gets ahead of him he commits offences. When he’s not on drugs, he does quite well.”
The court also heard that while Mitchell was out on bail for the Lakeview Market incident, he was charged with a break and enter at an undisclosed location.
For all of his crimes, Mitchell will serve seven months in jail, plus a three-year driving ban.
He’s also looking at a hefty civil suit once he gets out of jail. That’s because the Lakeview Market’s insurance company wants to be compensated for the damage Mitchell caused to the store estimated at more than $42,000.