Woman who crashed stolen taxi through Regina mall sent to prison

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For a ride downtown, the taxi driver wanted payment up front. His demand landed like a spark on the powder keg sitting behind him.

At 2:50 a.m., Dakota Louison was in a bad way, running on a cocktail of booze, drugs and grief.

The 32-year-old woman was not happy with the cabbie, and she wasn’t kind in letting him know.

He told her to get out.

She didn’t, and instead berated the man behind the wheel because she viewed him as an immigrant.

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But it didn’t stop there. Not even close.

She told him she’d kill him. She’d kill his family. She told him to get out.

He did and watched her drive off in his cab.

Police, who’d been notified of the stolen cab, began tracking it via GPS. Officers located the vehicle and began to follow.

Louison sped away, winding up at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Broad Street and 14th Avenue. As police closed in, she drove the cab into the front of the drug store before taking off for downtown, where she damaged the front of two more businesses.

But more destruction was yet to come.

As police followed, Louison drove through the main entrance of the Cornwall Centre mall.

The cab careened across the mall’s tiled floor and into yet another Shoppers Drug Mart storefront before smashing through the doors on the north side of the building, coming to a stop at a set of steps where Louison was arrested.

The saga was described Thursday by Regina provincial court Judge Daryl Rayner, who noted that such destruction “is something that you see only in the movies, one would think.”

“But no,” he continued. “Unfortunately Ms. Louison embarked on this incredibly serious and dangerous action.”

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Charges against Louison for the stolen cab episode were only a portion of the total list to which she pleaded guilty, numbering 17. It also included shoplifting, assault, failing to attend court, and causing a fire alarm in the Cornwall Centre mall, most of which occurred in the last few months of 2023.

For all of this, Rayner sentenced her to five years in prison. After receiving credit for time served on remand, she has just over four years left on the sentence.

The length fell directly between the six years sought by Crown prosecutor Derek Davidson and the four years suggested by defence lawyer Tyne Hagey, whose positions the judge relayed Thursday.

Rayner took into account the seriousness and harm of the offences, which culminated in the taxi episode. He made specific mention of the taxi driver being part of a class of “vulnerable” workers.

“I am at the same time giving particular attention to the circumstances and difficulties of Ms. Louison, who is an aboriginal person,” Rayner said.

A member of Kahkewistahaw First Nation, Louison grew up alongside seven siblings. She attended day school whereas her father went to residential school but “does not talk about it,” Rayner noted. At around age 19, she moved to Manitoba and met her partner, worked for a home-care business, and had two children.

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Her criminal record dates back to 2019, when she began drinking.

“Around that time there was a fire, which resulted in the death of her oldest daughter,” the judge told those in attendance. “She was there, and attempted to rescue her.”

Neither Louison or her partner dealt with the grief properly, Rayner said, noting that in addition to alcohol she began “spiralling downwards” due to drug use. Such was her state at the time of her most serious offences, according to the judge.

His decision noted that denouncing the conduct, deterring similar offences, promoting a sense of responsibility in the offender and acknowledging the harm done to the victims and the community, “must be emphasized.”

However, he counted as mitigating factors Louison’s personal history, her accepting responsibility and entering guilty pleas, thereby saving the pain and expense of a trial.

“She has not squandered her time on remand,” Rayner said, highlighting that Louison completed addictions programming and other rehabilitative programs.

Now 33 years old, the woman recognizes she needs proper grief counselling, according to the judge.

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In addition to her custodial sentence, Louison received a driving prohibition (for five years following her release from prison) and a 10-year weapons prohibition.

Rayner also made a stand-alone restitution order matching the amount paid for insurance deductibles by the affected parties.

bharder@postmedia.com

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