A truck caused major damage to vehicles and buildings following an incident at Country Club Centre in the evening of Monday, Jan. 6. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

2020 in review

Top Stories of 2020: Repeat offender found guilty for Country Club Centre truck rampage

Dec 11, 2020 | 5:03 PM

NANAIMO — The year started off with a bang when a dangerous driver and prolific offender damaged several cars and buildings during a rampage at Country Club Centre.

Reports of a serious motor vehicle incident flooded to NanaimoNewsNOW just after dinner on Monday, Jan. 6. Onlookers reported a truck driving at high speed, crashing into two vehicles and multiple buildings before ramming head first into the wall of the CIBC bank.

Joshua Tyler Schaeffer was arrested at the scene and ultimately found guilty in September for a string of dangerous driving offences, including the Country Club incident.

Court later revealed Schaeffer got into an argument with his brother Spencer, also well known to police, outside Shoppers Drug Mart.

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Schaeffer got behind the wheel of his truck and sped into the pillars outside the store, damaging a vehicle at the nearby intersection.

The truck then crashed into an exterior brick wall next to the Running Room at the other end of the parking lot before ramming the CIBC at high speed.

The January incident occurred as Schaeffer was on bail for a June 2018 incident through south Nanaimo where he hit multiple vehicles at excessive speeds before getting stuck in a ditch.

Schaeffer’s representative Kelly Bradshaw said her client doesn’t remember anything about his two rampages.

“He just can’t figure out what he was doing or why he was doing it. I know that’s not satisfying to the court or the community, but obviously he feels terrible about it,” she told the Honourable Justice Brian Harvey.

Schaeffer’s criminal history dates back to 2001 and his trial for the dangerous driving incidents involved a mental health assessment.

At the time of the assessment, Schaeffer’s lawyer told reporters “(Schaeffer’s) got something mentally wrong with him. It’s quite clear…this young man had something wrong with him mentally, there’s no doubt in my mind.”

Schaeffer showed remorse for his actions as he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for the two counts of dangerous driving.

He received credit for time served and will spend a total of 17 months behind bars, be prohibited from driving for three years and be under a number of conditions for two years after release.

– with files from Spencer Sterritt and Ian Holmes

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley