A man serving a community sentence for a Burnaby hit-and-run that killed a Surrey motorcyclist three years ago will find out next week if he is staying in real jail after violating the conditions of his house arrest in September.
Marcel Genaille, 37, was handed a conditional sentence in June after pleading guilty to failing to stop at the scene of a June 19, 2021 crash on Canada Way that fatally injured Mark Peters, a 59-year-old husband and father of two from Surrey.
Peters had been stopped at a red light on his motorcycle at Imperial Street just after 9:45 p.m. when he was rear-ended by a Honda Accord driven by Genaille who was travelling at 76 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, according to agreed facts presented in court.
Genaille was back in court last month after a police officer caught him driving on Sept. 27 without proper insurance or a valid diver's licence, and more than four-and-a-half hours outside of his curfew.
As part of his conditional sentence, he was still under house arrest and wasn't supposed to be outside of his home except for work between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
He was also prohibited from being in the driver's seat of any vehicle unless he was properly licensed and was driving directly to or from work.
At a hearing on Oct. 30, Genaille's lawyer Tony Lagemaat said his client admitted breaching his sentence by failing to observe his house arrest and by being in a vehicle outside of the exceptions for work.
When questioned by Crown prosecutor Mark Myhre, Genaille said he was unaware he was a prohibited driver at the time and believed he was "paid up" on his insurance.
Genaille told the court he had been excited about getting housing after a period of homelessness and was gassing up his vehicle and moving into his new place when a police officer spotted him at a Surrey gas station.
Myhre argued the court couldn't accept Genaille's excuse and that his actions reflected a "cavalier attitude" toward the terms of his conditional sentence.
He said Genaille's conditional sentence order should be cancelled and he should spend the remaining 15 months in jail, minus 50 days of enhanced credit for time he's been in custody since his September arrest.
Lagemaat argued Genaille should be put back on the conditional sentence order, with electronic monitoring if need be.
He said Genaile has made strides in his rehabilitation, including getting a job and housing, both of which would be in jeopardy if he was sent to jail.
"He's had plenty of time to reflect on his carelessness," Lagemaat said
B.C. provincial court Judge Andrea Brownstone is scheduled to rule in the case Tuesday (Nov. 12).
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