A 34-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation was sentenced to jail time in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Tuesday for charges stemming from a high-speed chase earlier this month on Highway 2 near Penzance.
Leigh Takakenew pleaded guilty on Feb. 24 to possession of a concealed imitation Glock pistol, flight from police and two breaches of a conditional sentence order. Judge Brian Hendrickson sentenced her to three months in jail minus time served and terminated her conditional sentence order so that she spends the remaining time of the CSO in custody.
Crown prosecutor Rob Parker was seeking four months and the termination of the CSO. Legal Aid lawyer Julie Knox argued for a new four-month CSO.
On Feb. 13 at around 1:16 p.m., RCMP ran the licence plate of a vehicle with three people in it driven by Takakenew and found the registered owner had outstanding charges.
The officers engaged their emergency equipment, but the vehicle accelerated. The officers disengaged their emergency equipment but continued to follow the vehicle as it travelled at speeds up to 130 km/h. The defence had said Takakenew panicked because it wasn’t her vehicle.
A spike strip was eventually set up near Penzance which eventually stopped the vehicle. Tucked between a seat and the centre console was an imitation Glock CO2 “pellet or BB” gun.
Takakenew was on a Conditional Sentence Order from November of 2023. She was charged with breaching the condition of keeping the peace and being of good behaviour as a result of the incident.
She was also charged with breaching a CSO condition for failing to report to a probation supervisor on Dec. 11 and a warrant for her arrest was issued on Jan. 2.
In his sentencing, Hendrickson noted that this was Takakenew’s seventh weapons conviction in five years and notes from the probation supervisor said she did not perform well under the Conditional Sentence Order.
The judge did receive and took into consideration a Gladue report outlining Takakenew’s circumstances as an Aboriginal person.
Hendrickson sentenced Takakenew to 90 days from the concealed CO2 gun, and 30 days concurrent for flight from the police. She spent 15 actual days pre-sentence in custody and was credited for 23 days meaning she has 67 days left to serve.
The termination of the Conditional Sentence Order means she will spend the remaining time of the order behind bars consecutive to the other charges.