Jennifer Saltman
Special to the Langley Advance
A Langley man who rammed two unmarked police vehicles, then committed a carjacking almost four months later while on bail has been sent to prison.
Daniel Monaghan, 27, appeared in provincial court in Surrey Monday, where he was sentenced on three separate files.
On Nov. 9, 2015, Monaghan pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, dangerous driving and possession of stolen property in connection with an incident in Surrey Nov. 21, 2014. That day, Monaghan was driving a stolen vehicle with two passengers when he drew the attention of two RCMP officers. As they followed him, Monaghan put his vehicle in reverse and rammed the vehicles, injuring both officers.
Following his arrest, he was released on bail, but breached his bail conditions in February 2015 when he stopped living at a recovery house. Earlier this year, Monaghan was convicted of possessing stolen property over $5,000 and robbery in a March 2, 2015, incident in Abbotsford, also while he was on bail.
According to a pre-sentence report, Monaghan moved to B.C. from Alberta in 2014 and became involved with a bad crowd. His lawyer submitted Monaghan drank and used cocaine excessively, and it became a game to steal pickup trucks.
In her reasons for sentence, Judge Andrea Brownstone recognized Monaghan is a relatively young man with no prior criminal record, but said he committed serious violent offences.
“These were not just property offences. They both involved violence in addition to possession of stolen property,” Brownstone said. “It stopped being a game.”
In the car-ramming case, Brownstone sentenced Monaghan to 20 months time served, taking into account credit for the time he has already spent in custody.
For the breach, she sentenced him to seven days in jail, to be served concurrently.
On the carjacking, she sentenced Monaghan to two years in prison, to be served consecutively, followed by two years of probation. He is also prohibited from driving for two years.
- Jennifer Saltman is a reporter with the Vancouver Province