Man stops challenging court jurisdiction for impaired crash sentencing

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This article was published 06/12/2024 (430 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Steinbach man who used footprints as identification and refused to be called by his last name became a lot more contrite after being convicted for impaired driving, failure to provide a breath sample, and failure to stop at the scene of an accident in La Broquerie that was very close to being deadly.

Willy Klassen, 30, was given fines totaling $5,500 and an 18-month driving prohibition at his sentencing hearing Nov. 29 in Steinbach court. He was convicted at his trial in July.

A tow truck driver testified during the trial that he had left his work vehicle on Des Pignons in La Broquerie overnight. He was the first to speak with Klassen around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 24.

The tow truck driver described the Toyota car being wedged under the flatbed, which went through the windshield. He found Klassen trying to pull the passenger out of the side window, while a female was in the backseat.

Klassen ran when he saw emergency lights. Witnesses told police which way he went, and they found him crouched in some bushes by the train tracks.

Klassen was found not guilty on the charge of obstructing or resisting police. The charges Klassen was found guilty of originally included a cause bodily harm component that would likely result in more severe sentences, but that was removed by the Crown because the passenger refused to cooperate. Fire and paramedic responders were not called in to testify.

Klassen started to walk out of his own trial while Judge Bright was laying down some ground rules ahead of testimony. Bright last dealt with Klassen in May after he filed notices of motions using footprints as identification, so was prepared for his insistence that the provincial court had no jurisdiction over him.

Klassen repeatedly said during trial that the name Willy Klassen was given to him by his mother for his convenience, but that he did not sign anything to become an “agent” of the state. This to him meant the courts did not have jurisdiction over him.

Another unsuccessful argument was his argument that he was not driving because “driving implies there was commerce being done.”

But during his sentencing hearing, Klassen struck a different tone. Self-represented, Klassen told court that he did not wish to go to jail because he had a daughter and rented out rooms in his house to six people who could not get rooms anywhere else.

“All sorts ranging from drug abuse to alcoholism, criminal records… any other place wouldn’t give them the time of day,” Klassen told the judge.

A few of his tenants wrote letters of support for Klassen, who said he was going through a bad breakup at the time.

“I’m deeply remorseful for what happened. It caused me lots of sleepless nights,” said Klassen in court.

He said he even helped during a medical emergency at the mall in Steinbach just the day before sentencing.

“There was a couple of Punjabi guys. It looked like one of them was having a seizure or some sort, passed out on the bench. He didn’t know what to do, so I came there and told them what to do. I put him on the ground and put him on his side so he doesn’t choke on his tongue,” described Klassen.

Judge Bright said in court she did not have any issues with Klassen once the trial started. She added that providing those rooms to people was something not everyone would do.

The Crown had been asking for 60 to 90 days in jail plus fines. Klassen did not have a prior criminal record.

“I’m of the view a message can be sent to him that the court takes this conduct very seriously without the need to send him to jail,” said Judge Bright.