Skip to content

Man convicted in drunk driving death of Karen Lafferty sentenced

moore3
May 21/17 Robin Grant/NNSL photo One person was killed when this car left the Ingram Trail and ended up in a pond about 25 km east of Yellowknife on Sunday morning. NWT Chief Coroner Cathy Menard said a 31-year-old woman from Behchoko had been killed. No name has been released as RCMP continue to investigate.

A Yellowknife man convicted in the drunk driving death of Karen Lafferty will spend another 18.5 months behind bars following a sentencing decision in NWT Supreme Court

Joshua Moore, 29, received two and a half years for impaired driving causing death, and a two year sentence for impaired driving causing bodily harm to be served concurrently. But, because he has been in custody since his arrest in May, he has a credit of 11.5 months for time already served, meaning he will only spend 18.5 months in prison.

Judge Louise Charbonneau  who stressed her "extreme reluctance" in handing down a sentence she deemed lenient, said a joint submission previously filled by Crown prosecutor Alex Godfrey and Moore's defence Ryan Clements – in which both parties asked for a two and a half year sentence – restricted her ability in departing from the "low end range" of the sentence submissions.

Calling the consequences of Moore's actions "disastrous," Judge Charbonneau weighed mitigating and aggregating factors related to the incident in making her decision.

On May 21, 2017, over the May long weekend, an intoxicated Moore was driving in Yellowknife when he picked up four passengers, including Lafferty. Hitting speeds of up to 180 km/h, Moore headed east along the Ingraham Trail, crossing over the road's centre line before swerving to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Moments later, Moore crashed into a pond near Prosperous Lake, killing Lafferty.

Judge Charbennou, calling Moore a "very spoiled young man" said considerations of his criminal record, coupled with his choice to ignore the pleas of his passengers to slow down, outweighed the minimal hardships he faced as a youth and the remorse he showed by pleading guilty. Charbonneau also emphasized that while only one occupant in the vehicle died, "(Moore) could have killed them all," she said.

"I hope you understand you're getting a huge, huge break," Charnbennou said, speaking directly to Moore as she instructed him to stand. "It's time you grow up. Sorry isn't good enough anymore," she said.

Highlighting the "preventable carnage" of drunk driving, Charbonneau handed Moore at ten year driving ban upon his release.