Saskatoon man described as 'serial drunk driver' gets 7-year sentence, lifetime driving ban

A Saskatoon man described in court as a "serial drunk driver" is going to prison for seven years and is banned from ever driving again.

Richard Russell Frank, 47, appeared in provincial court Wednesday.

Frank's most recent charge dates from earlier this year, when he was found drunk and slumped over the wheel of a car on the city's east side.

As court heard, that was an all-too-familiar position.

"His record is, quite frankly, horrendous," said prosecutor Frank Impey.

"It's one of the worst we've seen."

His own lawyer, Mike Nolin, saidthat "he has an abyssmal record of drinking and driving."

It was Frank's criminal record that led to the penitentiary sentence.

He has 11 previous drunk driving convictions, dating back to the 1980s. Three of those convictions led to him serving penitentiary time. He also has one conviction for dangerous driving, with three counts of drunk driving causing bodily harm.

He has 18 convictions for driving while disqualified.

In 2005, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal described its concerns. The Crown at the time was appealing an earlier drunk driving sentence.

"Those charges arose out of five separate incidents spread over a broad period of time running from June 1, 2000 to August 24, 2004," the judgment said.

"These ongoing offences starkly evidence Mr. Frank's continuing and complete disregard for the sanctions imposed on him and a parallel disregard for the lives and safety of fellow motorists."