Legal troubles for chronic offender Christopher Mitchell are far from over. He's accused of committing crimes in Campbell River just one week into an intermittent jail sentence. He allegedly failed to return to the Nanaimo Correctional Centre on Oct. 9, a few weeks before being accused of crimes on the north island. (Facebook)

By Ian Holmes

Court watch

Intermittent sentence from Nanaimo judge fails, prolific offender accused of additional serious crime

Nov 7, 2019 | 1:25 PM

NANAIMO — A hardened criminal granted an intermittent jail sentence allegedly failed to return to jail after serving just one week of his remaining 82-days behind bars.

Not only is Christopher James Mitchell, 30, accused of not going back to jail, he was was hit with several new charges after a recent takedown by Campbell River Mounties on Friday, Nov. 1.

RCMP allege Mitchell and a female accomplice were in a vehicle with incorrect plates when they left a Campbell River home on Nov. 1 at 1:55 a.m.

Campbell River police said they attempted to stop the vehicle when a collision occurred with a police cruiser.

After the crash, Mitchell allegedly fled the vehicle after being contained by officers and was injured by a Police Services Dog when being taken into custody.

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Police said he was then taken to hospital and released back into police custody.

He faces five new charges, including assaulting a peace officer.

The Independent Investigations Office was notified about the incident — the police watchdog group probes police involved interactions resulting in serious injury or death.

A wounded Mitchell hobbled on crutches as he appeared briefly in court in Nanaimo on Tuesday, Nov. 5 via video link from the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Victoria.

He’ll remain in custody indefinitely, with his next court appearance scheduled for Nov. 19.

Just six weeks ago, Mitchell told provincial court judge Douglas Cowling he “won’t be back here again” during sentencing in Nanaimo for a damaging single-day crime spree in Chemainus and Nanaimo in June, 2017.

Judge Cowling sided with the defence’s push for a week on, week off jail tenure to accommodate Mitchell’s work schedule in Courtenay and allow him to re-connect with family.

Defence counsel Bobby Movassaghi told the Sept. 23 hearing an intermittent sentence would help his client transition back into society.

Movassaghi said Mitchell had stable housing, family support and someone willing to drive him to and from the Nanaimo Correctional Centre.

Crown prosecutor Catherine Hagen disagreed with the intermittent jail request. She lobbied for a continuous sentence, citing Mitchell’s criminal record, character and seriousness of the offences.

Despite allowing it, Judge Cowling himself conceded Mitchell was not a prime candidate for intermittent jail.

The additional 82-day sentence recently levied against Mitchell stemmed from an 18-month prison term, however a bulk of it was served by Mitchell during pre-trial custody.

A dangerous series of crimes on Father’s day in 2017 saw Mitchell and a co-accused steal multiple vehicles and evade police.

Mitchell was also injured by a Police Services Dog at the time when he refused to stop for police in Colliery Dam Park.

Mitchell is a notorious chronic offender with more than 50 convictions to his name dating back to his youth.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes