A man who raced from Fruitvale to Nelson at speeds of up to 170 km/h while in a drug-induced psychosis won’t have to spend any more time behind bars.
Jivat Aragon-Martinez received a two-year conditional sentence Friday, to be served at the Discovery House addiction recovery centre in Penticton. Afterward, he will be on probation for two years and won’t be able to drive for four years. He has been in jail since last October.
Aragon-Martinez pleaded guilty in January to two counts of dangerous driving for incidents that took place on consecutive days in August 2024.
Justice Lindsay Lyster laid out the circumstances before passing sentence in Nelson Supreme Court.
On Aug. 30, 2024, Aragon-Martinez passed multiple vehicles at high speeds on Highway 3 in Grand Forks in his pick-up truck, forcing multiple vehicles coming the opposite way to pull off the road.
A taxi driver who wanted to get Aragon-Martinez’s license plate number followed him to a parking lot. Upon noticing a photo was being taken of his vehicle, Aragon-Martinez drove into the rear side of the other vehicle, leaving a large dent. The taxi driver also suffered a minor injury.
Aragon-Martinez then followed the taxi driver, who feared they might collide before he was able to pull over and call 911.
The following day, which was the Saturday of the Labour Day long weekend, Aragon-Martinez donned a helmet and sped from Fruitvale to Nelson via Trail and Castlegar, ignoring multiple traffic lights and stop signs en route.
About 50 people called 911 about his driving. Aragon-Martinez often travelled in the wrong lane and nearly caused several head-on crashes. At times, the truck was reported to be going 160 to 170 km/h.
At Taghum, the truck rear-ended a Toyota Rav 4 driven by an off-duty RCMP traffic officer. The officer regained control of his vehicle before it went over a cliff. The vehicle suffered extensive damage.
Aragon-Martinez kept going, with his truck’s engine smoking and steaming. The hood was by then open and had peeled up against the windshield. Aragon-Martinez was seen looking through the driver’s side window to navigate. An RCMP officer clocked him going 128 km/h at this point.
Finally, Aragon-Martinez’s truck hit a median, lost control, and collided with a rock face east of the intersection of Granite Road, Government Road, and Highway 3A-6 just outside of Nelson.
Aragon-Martinez got out of his truck with a backpack and two police officers struggled to arrest him. While in custody, he made incoherent and violent statements aimed at police and himself. He “screamed, kicked, and punched” the cell door, the judge said.
Inside the backpack were four plastic bags with about 800 grams of psilocybin, the same drug Aragon-Martinez had used before getting in his truck. The judge concluded he was either impaired by the drug or having a mental health crisis related to drug use.
Aragon-Martinez later told a psychiatrist that at the time, he thought terrorists were chasing him, and that one of the police officers who arrested him was a terrorist.
Diagnosis unclear
Lyster explained that Aragon-Martinez, 49, was born in Mexico. When he was seven, his father murdered his mother. His father died soon after, and Aragon-Martinez lived with his grandparents.
Aragon-Martinez met his former wife, a Canadian, in Mexico. They married in 2003 and he moved to Canada with her and became a Canadian citizen in 2014. They had four children together before separating in 2015 and divorcing the following year.
Aragon-Martinez became a welder and lived a productive life until the mid-to-late 2010s, when his employment became unstable and he ran into financial problems. He declared bankruptcy.
Things got worse during the pandemic, because Aragon-Martinez declined to be vaccinated, which limited his employment opportunities. He became homeless and attended the truck blockade at the border crossing in Coutts, Alta., for 75 days.
Afterward, he obtained work in camps, but his housing situation remained precarious.
The judge outlined a history of Aragon-Martinez’s drug use, which included crystal meth and psilocybin.
He has been admitted to psychiatric facilities several times since 2024. His exact diagnosis remains unclear, but one psychiatrist said it was most likely substance-induced psychotic disorder. At times he has refused to be treated with anti-psychotic medication, including after a March 2025 incident, when he was arrested in downtown Kelowna for waving a knife.
Prior to 2024, Aragon-Martinez had no criminal record, but while on bail, he was convicted of several offences, including assault with a weapon, uttering threats, mischief, and breach of release.
Aragon-Martinez’s sister and adult son both wrote letters of support on his behalf, saying he had previously been a responsible man who provided for his family before mental health issues consumed him. They said while in custody, he has found the help he needs. A positive letter also came from an assistant warden of the Okanagan Correction Centre, where Aragon-Martinez has completed programs and been a peer support worker.
At his sentencing hearing last month, Aragon-Martinez thanked those who have helped him in jail and said he was looking forward to receiving treatment at Discovery House. He expressed remorse for his actions and said failing his children was his biggest punishment.
‘Objectively highly dangerous’
The dangerous driving charges Aragon-Martinez faced each came with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a driving ban of up to 10 years upon his release.
The Crown called for a total sentence of 2½ to three years in jail followed by a license suspension of five to 10 years.
The defence requested time served, amounting to about nine months, followed by three years probation and a driving ban of no more than three years. Alternatively, his lawyer requested a two-year conditional sentence. The Crown opposed the conditional sentence, arguing that while Aragon-Martinez has responded well to being in custody, he hasn’t demonstrated that he can do well under community supervision.
In considerating aggravating and mitigating factors, Lyster said Aragon-Martinez drove in an “objectively highly dangerous manner.”
“It is incredibly fortunate that no one was seriously injured or killed because of Mr. Aragon-Martinez’s conduct,” she said.
“On the other hand, Mr. Aragon-Martinez was clearly suffering from psychosis on both days. He was acting under the influence of delusional beliefs. On the evidence before me, his psychosis was likely substance induced, although there likely is some underlying mental health disorder. The psychotic element reduces Mr. Aragon-Martinez’s moral culpability, although not as much as it would had drugs not been involved in triggering the psychosis.”
Lyster said she considered Aragon-Martinez’s rehabilitation prospects “very good” if he avoids substance use and complies with psychiatric treatment. She considered a fit sentence for the Grand Forks incident to be one year in prison and two years for the Fruitvale-to-Nelson incident the following day. However, she added that a three-year sentence would be “unduly harsh” in light of the mental health crisis that Aragon-Martinez was experiencing and his lack of a criminal record.
She reduced the sentences to six months and 18 months, respectively, to be served consecutively. She granted the defence’s request for a conditional sentence order, allowing Aragon-Martinez to serve his sentence at Discovery House, where he will be subject to the facility’s rules, including remaining sober and sticking to a curfew.
“I am persuaded that will best serve his rehabilitation and ultimately the public’s interest in Mr. Aragon-Martinez returning to a productive, law-abiding life,” Lyster said.
Speaking directly to Aragon-Martinez, she added: “I think you are sincere in wanting to move on with your life, to return to being a productive member of society, and to prove to your children that you are a good man.
“I urge you to take advantage of the help you will receive at Discovery House and from your treating professionals, and to maintain abstinence from all substances to ensure that you do not suffer any further mental health breakdowns and are able to achieve your goals.”
Aragon-Martinez’s overall sentence also included one day in jail for drug possession, to be served concurrently.
