Curtis Vidal was sentenced Monday to four and a half years in jail - federal time - for shooting up his own SUV in a fit of temper after an argument with his girlfriend.

But Vidal, 29, also has a lengthy record of 41 convictions since 1995 for violent offenses ranging from break-and-enter to robbery, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, drug trafficking and flight from police.

And he was found guilty May 8 on eight more charges stemming from the bizarre shooting on July 27, 2007, including possession of a firearm and driving a vehicle despite earlier court bans on both.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brian Joyce said in sentencing Vidal that offenders charged with serious crimes and who choose to ignore court orders "must know there are serious consequences."

"The increase in the use of handguns ... in our society is troubling," he said. "These are deadly weapons that pose a serious risk to those who use them and to innocent bystanders."

"The safety of the public must receive priority."

Joyce also banned Vidal from driving for 10-15 years, and ordered him to provide a DNA sample.

Although no one was hurt in the shooting incident, the justice said it was "fortunate no one was injured" when Vidal fired several shots into the green Ford Expedition parked outside a house on Reece Avenue.

According to courtroom testimony, Vidal had been drinking with others at the house when he got into an argument with his girlfriend at the time.

Shauntel McRae told the court that Vidal warned her not to burn him with a cigarette or else he would "do something stupid."

He then went outside and fired several shots into the SUV, which he had signed over to McRae.

Vidal then sped away, with police in pursuit, all around downtown Chilliwack, until he jumped from the still-moving truck, which crashed driver-less into an apartment building near Robson Street.

A 9-mm Beretta was found in the SUV with Vidal's DNA on it, and five shell casings found at the scene of the shooting matched the handgun.

A sixth casing was also found in the truck.

Vidal will serve three and a half years in jail after credit for time already served in custody is deducted from the sentence.

Defense counsel had argued for for a jail sentence of not more than one year after two-for-one credit was deducted.