Niagara Falls Review

By Alison Langley (Review Reporter)

Police believed the driver was impaired by alcohol but the motorist was unable to provide a breath sample to confirm their suspicions as his lip had been bitten off, court told.

Brandan Eramian, 29, appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines Wednesday and pleaded guilty to several charges including dangerous driving and refusing to comply with police demands for a blood sample.

In February 2020, court was told, the defendant called police to report he was driving while intoxicated.

Niagara Regional Police located him driving at a slow rate of speed on Thorold Stone Road near Garner Road in Niagara Falls.

“He was covered in blood and bleeding from his lip, a portion of which had been bitten off,” said assistant Crown attorney Todd Morris.

The defendant, a resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake, told police his girlfriend had bitten off his lip during an argument earlier that night at a Niagara Falls bar.

Due to his injuries, court was told, the driver was unable to provide a sample of his breath for analysis.

He was taken to hospital where he refused to provide a blood sample for analysis.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges stemming from a May 2019 incident in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

On May 28, court heard, the offender was in the process of stealing metal posts from a property when he was confronted by the owner.

Eramian rammed his vehicle into the owner’s pickup truck in an attempt to flee the property. The victim’s vehicle sustained extensive damage.

The first-time offender was fined $2,000, banned from driving for 12 months and placed on probation for three years.

Defence lawyer Jeremie Nadeau told the judge his client has no plans to reunite with the woman who bit off his lip.