CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - A P.E.I. man who drove his vehicle onto the Charlottetown Airport runway says he wasn’t suicidal at the time.
Matthew David Joseph Carter, 35, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown Monday where he was scheduled to be sentenced after he previously pleaded guilty to impaired driving and damaging property.
Instead, Carter addressed the court and made statements that Orr said undermined the agreed statement of facts that were part of his guilty plea.
That included Carter refuting mentions of suicidal thoughts in the agreed statement of facts.
“My life was going great,” he said.
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During a previous court appearance, the court heard the agreed statement of facts, which included details about the police finding empty prescription bottles in Carter’s vehicle.
On Monday, Carter said he had prescription refills he hadn’t picked up yet and he used needles found in the vehicle to give himself injections for a medical condition.
Carter said he was sick and dizzy when he turned off the road, so he wouldn’t hurt anyone on July 16.
He refuted claims that he cut locks on an airport fence to gain access to the runway.
“Those are the facts and are not fiction.”
After hearing Carter’s statement, Orr said a hearing on the facts might be necessary before she could sentence him.
Crown attorney Cyndria Wedge said the facts were in dispute and she thought a hearing was needed.
Carter has been in custody for more than 60 days since his arrest and was on statutory release from prison for a prior conviction when he committed the offences at the airport.
He will be back in court Oct. 17 for a hearing on the facts.
