Cody Gratton-Bradshaw, 6, and Bill Soper.
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By Black Press - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: October 10, 2008 4:00 PM
Updated: October 10, 2008 5:09 PM
Six weeks before he was involved in a July motorcycle accident that cost him his parole, Jeremy Matthew Coles was charged with drug trafficking, a recently released National Parole Board decision reveals.
Coles was given 10 years for killing a young boy and his stepfather by sending a driverless truck careening down a quiet residential Surrey street in 1999.
At the time of his July 2008 motorcycle accident, Coles was under a 15-year driving ban.
He was subsequently ticketed for driving without a licence, driving without insurance and passing on the right.
In May, less than two months before the crash, Coles was arrested after police discovered a marijuana grow-operation in the basement suite of the home where he was staying.
He was charged with trafficking and producing marijuana.
On his way home from jail the following morning, Coles had three tokes of pot with his neighbours, confirmed by a urine test.
This was a violation of another condition of his parole: abstaining from all intoxicants.
"It appears you have not taken your parole conditions seriously," the board writes in the decision denying Coles his release.
"You violated your parole conditions on two occasions, once for smoking pot and once for driving while prohibited."
The board adds: "Your most recent behaviour... mirrors the high risk behaviours you exhibited in the past and your attitude of indifference towards public safety."
Six-year-old Cody Gratton-Bradshaw was riding on the back of 42-year-old Bill Soper's motorcycle in the 9400 block of 125 Street on Oct. 18, 1999 when the pair was struck and killed by a "free-riding" stolen truck launched by Coles, who jammed a stick against the gas pedal and sent the driverless vehicle roaring down a quiet residential street.
A psychological assessment done at the time of his original trial rated Coles a “high risk to re-offend with violence,” noting that he is suspected of being a prison drug dealer.
Coles' next possible release date is September 2009.
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