LINDSAY – Former Outlaws, Loners and Bandidos Motorcycle Club member Robert (Bob) Pammett will spend the next year in jail for lying when he took the stand during the assault trial of fellow biker and son-in-law Pierre Aragon in April 2015.
The 66-year-old waved goodbye to two supporters, including his common-law wife, as he was taken into custody just before 1 p.m. Tuesday following the decision from Madam Justice Lisa Cameron in Lindsay's Ontario Court of Justice.
One year in custody was “the most appropriate” sentence, the judge said, explaining how it balances all of the factors in the case. Deterrence and denunciation were primary in the sentence, while rehabilitation was also a factor, she said.
“There is no getting around the fact that perjury is a very serious offence…. It strikes at the heart of the administration of justice,” she said, pointing out how Pammett had a chance to reconsider what he had done “and stop playing games, but he didn't.”
It's the second time the Campbellford resident has been convicted of perjury. He was charged in 1999 with the offence and ultimately convicted in 2002.
Cameron also noted the perjury conviction of Pammett's daughter Cherie, who lied about two things at her father's trial, also mentioning her she and her husband Aragon's recent convictions and one-year prison sentences for contempt for refusing to testify.
When proceedings began in the morning, Pammett addressed Cameron before she took time to consider her decision and review a letter submitted by Greenspan, who was not present Tuesday. Another lawyer was sent in his place.
In his sprawling comments, the former biker noted several times that he has not been convicted of anything in eight years, although he has been charged “five or six times” in recent years. City police have “manufactured charges,” such as using his truck as a weapon, he said.
It's created hardship for his family, Pammett said, adding how “At 66, I had to start over and go to work” after the “$2-million” house he built on McNamara Road was seized from him as the proceeds of drug profits. Has hasn't used legal aid or collected welfare either, he noted.
“I started with zero. Nothing. That's why my record speaks for itself,” he said.
Pammett also noted time in jail would prevent him from seeing his two children, ages eight and 10, who live in Welland. He sees them four days a month. “I wish you would give me an intermittent sentence of three months … I've proven myself.”
Cameron later noted Pammett was “feeling harassed” by city police, but her focus Tuesday was the perjury charge and not his relationship with law enforcement. “It's not something I can take into account, not can I hold it against you.”
When sentencing submissions were heard in Peterborough on March 31, assistant Crown attorney Lisa Wannamaker sought three to four years in jail while defence lawyer Brian Greenspan asked for a 90-day intermittent sentence, plus a period of probation.
Pammett was found guilty of perjury and the related offence of failing to comply with probation by Cameron on Jan. 27 in Cobourg.
He was also ordered to provide a DNA sample and given six months to pay a $200 victim surcharge.
