Citynow DrivergetsjailtimeforknockingdownMountie

Closure for a Burnaby

Mountie whose wrist was broken in a hit-and-run by a prohibited driver nearly five years ago has been a long time coming

On the morning of July 4, 2018, Const Diane Marsh was at the corner ofWillingdon Avenue and Parker Street, when she spotted a driver talking on his cell phone behind the wheel of an SUV driving in a Husky gas station, according to agreed facts presented at a sentencing hearing inVancouver provincial court lastWednesday.

Marsh, who was on foot, made eye contact with the driver and yelled at him to stop, but he ignored her and proceeded ontoWillingdon, hitting her with the passenger side of the SUV and knocking her to the ground.

He didn’t stop but took off onWillingdon at “a high rate of speed,” according to the facts.

Marsh’s right wrist was broken, and she wasn’t able to perform her regular policing duties for twoand-half years after the incident. She has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder related to the incident.

Marsh broke down as she read out a victim impact statement in court.

“The accused has shown a complete lack of respect for human life and the authority of the police,” she said

It took three-and-a-half years for charges to be laid against the driver who left her lying on the street:

Fabian Ernesto Argenal Lopez, 33

Argenal Lopez was in court March 8 to plead guilty to hit-and-run, wilfully resisting or obstructing a police officer and one count of driving while prohibited

On the day he hit Marsh, Argenal Lopez was already under a driving ban, and there was a warrant out for his arrest because he hadn’t showed up for court to face a prohibited driving charge from March 2018

B C provincial court Judge John Milne called Argenal Lopez’s driving record “appalling ”

In a joint sentencing submission, Crown prosecutor Margaret Mackie and defence lawyer Justin Myers called for a total jail sentence of nine months less one day and a driving ban of two years and nine months

Calculated into the sentence were immigration implications for Argenal Lopez, who is not a Canadian citizen, even though he moved to Canada from Nicaragua when he was only four years.

A jail sentence even one day longer for the hit-andrun or obstruction charges could have led to his deportation separating him from his partner, oneyear-old daughter and an unborn child

“He has extended family in Nicaragua that he has never met, so he has no connection to that country,” Myers said.

On the day of the hitand-run, Myers said his client panicked when

Marsh yelled at him to pull over and then panicked further after he hit her

“That’s something he is remorseful for,” Myers said

Argenal Lopez addressed the court, apologizing to Marsh and saying he’s taken steps to turn his life around.

“I don’t want to be that same loser that just makes mistakes,” he said.

Milne accepted the joint submission and sentenced Argenal Lopez to nine months less a day and a driving ban of two years and nine months

Among the aggravating factors in the case, Milne noted Argenal Lopez’s driving record and the fact Marsh was an on-duty police officer “who was plainly marked as an onduty police officer ”

As mitigating factors, Milne noted Argenal Lopez’s guilty plea, his steps to turn his life around and the “collateral” immigration consequences of a longer sentence