Rock star Chad Kroeger is banned from driving for one year and must pay a $600 fine for driving with a blood alcohol limit almost twice the legal limit, a provincial court judge in Surrey said yesterday.
The sentence is the mandatory minimum.
Kroeger, the lead singer for Vancouver-based rock group Nickelback, will appeal the judgment.
“It’s definitely been a little trying,” said Kroeger as he left the provincial courthouse, wearing a black trench coat and brown sunglasses.
“I don’t condone drinking and driving. I don’t think you should do it. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Kroeger, 33, whose real name is Chad Robert Turton, was driving his $175,000 red Lamborghini when he was pulled over for speeding early on June 22, 2006.
The arresting officer asked Kroeger to blow in his face. A pair of breath samples showed that he had a blood alcohol level of 0.14, almost twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Provincial Justice Peter Gulbransen later ruled that ordering Kroeger to blow in the officer’s face was an unreasonable search and a violation of his Charter rights. He felt, however, the breach was technical and ruled the exclusion of the evidence would bring the reputation of administration of justice into disrepute.
Kroeger’s lawyer, Marvin Stern, said he respects the judge’s decision but plans to appeal it. He said the police investigation went beyond anything he’d seen for a similar offence in 28 years.
He said the rock star suffered an inordinate amount of scrutiny and has had his face “spread across the news in a negative fashion.”
