By Ian Holmes

Mid island crime wave sends Parksville woman to jail

Jan 7, 2019 | 4:09 PM

NANAIMO — A woman with a drug problem racked up a lengthy criminal record in a short amount of time on the mid island.

Amie Jolene Kloss, 30, from Parksville was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to seven charges and 10 total counts at provincial court in Nanaimo on Thursday, Jan. 4. However, Kloss will only serve a further 81 days behind bars due to credit for time served while awaiting sentencing.

Her numerous run-ins with the law were outlined during an agreed statement of facts between Crown counsel and the defence.

Court was told on March 20, 2018 Kloss rammed a stolen pickup truck into an Oceanside RCMP cruiser on a Coombs-area logging road. 

Crown prosecutor Jackie Gaudet said the truck then travelled southbound on Hwy 19 against the flow of traffic causing a further risk to the public. A spike belt deflated all four tires and forced the truck to spin out of control and eventually stop. 

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A 12-gauge shotgun, ammo and crystal meth was found in the truck by police.

Truck passenger Kevin Patrick Lackie, 28, was charged for his alleged role in the incident. He remains in custody and has a bail hearing scheduled for Jan. 22.

Several months later, Kloss violated her probation by not staying at a rehab centre. 

Instead of being in treatment, court heard Kloss and Lackie were arrested in late-November getting out of a stolen tuck behind the Southgate Shopping Centre in south Nanaimo. They were tracked and taken down by a police dog.

Kloss was also convicted of several other crimes, including a July, 2017 break-in at a Spider Lake cabin where several stolen valuables were not recovered.

Judge Douglas Cowling said the proposed sentece was lenient, though he did agree with the joint submission from the Crown and defense.

“If you commit similar offences you could easily be looking at federal penitentiary time with the record that you’ve stacked up,” Judge Cowling told Kloss. “So you’re very much at a fork in the road when you’re released again.”

Kloss’ lawyer Peter Hertzberg said she was not a career criminal and spiralled into an unfortunate situation when her son and the father moved to Alberta two years ago. 

Her sentence included 18-months probation with numerous conditions, including undergoing a residential drug treatment program and a one-year driving ban.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes