A judge refused to allow comedian Philippe Bond to plead guilty to a charge of driving a vehicle with more than 80 mg of alcohol in his blood on Monday during a videoconference hearing at the Rivière-du courthouse. -Wolf.
• Read also: Philippe Bond accused of having exceeded the legal limit of drunk driving
He explained his decision by mentioning that justice must be done publicly and that the comedian had to plead his case in person, and not from the office of his lawyer Me Jean-Daniel Debkoski.
The defense therefore decided to plead not guilty, while asking that Philippe Bond’s file be transferred to the district of Terrebonne, where the comedian resides, for further proceedings.
The comedian’s file has been postponed until June 6 to see if a transfer is possible. The Crown will have the final say.
Note that the comedian’s lawyer, Me Jean-Daniel Debkoski, also asked the judge to change the home address of the accused, because of his client’s status as a public figure.
He wants his address to remain confidential in order to protect his children. According to the lawyer, Philippe Bond had to make complaints for harassment in the last two years.
The judge accepted the motion, henceforth entering the business address of Mr. Bond, namely in Montreal.
Remember that the comedian was in the region at the end of March for comedy shows, notably in La Pocatière and Carleton-sur-Mer. The man was arrested by the police in the parking lot of his hotel in Rivière-du-Loup during the night of March 30 to 31.
He performed a first alcohol test which he failed. He was then taken to the police station where he performed a second alcohol test which he failed once once more. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.10, 0.02 over the legal limit.
Philippe Bond also explained his version of the facts in a post on his Facebook page last Thursday.
