O'Brien Guilty

(Pete McIntyre) 107.5 KISS FM
A verdict has been handed down in the trial of a man accused of causing the death of a Vernon auxiliary police officer, two years ago.25 year old Michael O'Brien showed no emotion as he was found guilty of two counts of criminal negligence, one for causing the death of auxiliary Glen Evely and the other for causing bodily harm to Constable Frank Grenier who was in the courtroom today.
Sentencing will take place tomorrow, and the maximum penalty for the charge is a life sentence. Speaking for the Vernon RCMP, Corporal Henry Proce says the police are pleased with the verdict. Both these families, the Evely's and the Grenier's, have gone through some profound and very traumatic times and I think this gives them a measure of closure and we're very pleased with the judge's decision.' BC Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames ruled O'Brien showed a wanton and reckless disregard for the safety of others by driving a stolen pickup truck at an excessive rate of speed and crashing into an RCMP cruiser. While Beames could not conclude cocaine use was a factor, she said O'Brien made no attempt to stop before crashing into the police car. Grenier was among 50 police staff, Ministry of Forest workers (where Evely worked) and media in the courtoom for the verdict. Grenier has not been able to return to police work since the crash due to the permanent injuries he suffered. O'Brien's lawyer William Mastop would not say what he'll be asking for in sentencing Friday but he appeared to hint at that, when asked by the media. 'Its my view that in law, the upper limit in these circumstances is probably about nine years, total sentence. It could be anything from no further time, because he's done almost 20 months of what we call 'dead time' and that's often doubled up, so it amounts to almost having four years served.'