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Kelowna man facing third set of impaired driving-related charges denied bail

Bail has been denied for a Kelowna man facing his third set of impaired driving-related charges in seven months, the most recent one involving the death of a Springbrook father.

Bail has been denied for a Kelowna man facing his third set of impaired driving-related charges in seven months, the most recent one involving the death of a Springbrook father.

Kevin Lee Pearson, 44, was killed on May 20 in a collision at the intersection of 19th Street and 30th Avenue. RCMP said at the time that a pickup truck hit a motorcycle, killing the motorcycle rider.

Chad Ryan Connatty, 30, faces charges of impaired driving causing death and over 0.08 causing death.

Family of Pearson, who took up a front row of the courtroom for the bail hearing in Red Deer on Tuesday, remember him as a great person who loved his family and his friends.

“He loved life,” said Angie Cowell, Pearson’s common-law wife. “He was into the outdoors and a great person.

“There were not many people who didn’t like Kevin.”

Cowell said Pearson’s family and friends have planned a special camping trip, one of Pearson’s beloved activities, to Corkscrew Mountain on his birthday, July 11.

For Father’s Day, Cowell said the family including Pearson’s three sons wrote letters to Pearson and put them into balloons, releasing “them to heaven.”

Connatty appeared from the Red Deer Remand Centre by closed-circuit television before Judge John Holmes Monday in Red Deer provincial court. He had neck length dark hair and wore a leather-strapped crucifix necklace.

Holmes found several grounds for which Connatty could be held in custody until the completion of his court proceedings on the charges.

At the forefront was the fact this was the third time in seven months that Connatty has been charged with impaired driving offences.

In November 2014, he was charged in Fort McMurray on two counts of impaired driving and driving over 0.08. In April 2015, he was charged in Red Deer with the same two offences. These charges are also before the courts.

Crown prosecutor Carolyn Ayre said Connatty’s detention was warranted on numerous grounds, including the strength of the Crown’s case, the repetition of the alleged offences and the accused’s planned living arrangements.

When Ayre outlined the seriousness of the charges, including the maximum penalty of life in prison, Pearson’s supporters clapped.

Defence counsel Jordan Stuffco said his client was willing to accede to very strict bail conditions, living under practical house arrest in the care of his parents. Connatty’s parents were willing to post a cash bail of $10,000.

However, Ayre took issue with Connatty’s plan to live with his parents in their home in Kelowna, far removed from the Red Deer jurisdiction.

Throughout the bail hearing, Connatty cried as the Crown laid out its reasons for his detention. Stuffco said the cries were indicative of Connatty’s remorse.

Connatty will return to Red Deer provincial court on July 29. Stuffco said it was likely the next step would be a preliminary inquiry, but reserved his election to the next court appearance.

mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com