Mandeep Sidhu, who finished last in Thursday’s mayoral race, was convicted of careless driving Friday in Yukon territorial court.

The 30-year-old manager of a Fourth Avenue laundromat had pleaded not guilty on Oct. 7.

Judge Peter Chisholm also convicted him of stunting, but decided to stay the charge, invoking the rule against multiple convictions arising from the same offence.

The Supreme Court of Canada established the rule, known as the Kienapple principle, named after an accused who challenged multiple convictions from a single criminal act.

The stunting charge didn’t have a distinct element from the careless driving charge, one of the requirements to use the rule, Chisholm said.

Both were arising from substantially the same elements.

Chisholm fined him $400, plus a $60 victim fine surcharge.

The conviction stems from a July 12 incident.

RCMP Const. Mitch Hutton had pulled over a driver on Two Mile Hill Road.

The driver had been going up Two Mile Hill Road from downtown and had pulled into the left lane closest to the median.

The constable activated his cruiser’s emergency flashing lights.

Hutton testified that, as he was walking back to his truck with documents from the driver, he saw a truck coming at high speed within one foot of his cruiser. Its driver honked its horn.

He estimated the truck was going at about 100 km/h, and then accelerated to 120-130 km/h once he passed the police cruiser.

Hutton identified the pickup truck as Sidhu’s.

In his ruling rendered Friday, Chisholm dismissed much of Sidhu’s testimony, but relied on his video evidence and Hutton’s testimony to convict him.

Sidhu had testified he had assumed the police cruiser had pulled in the farthest right lane. He said he had only realized it was in the left lane when he came close to the cruiser.

On the stand, he testified he then honked out of frustration and switched lanes, accelerating to 60 km/h.

The posted speed limit on Two Mile Hill Road is 60 km/h.

The judge noted the lighting was good in the area, relying on a video Sidhu made after the incident, showing himself drive up Two Mile Hill Road.

Sidhu had argued burned-out city lights made for bad illumination conditions that night.

There were no other vehicles in the other lanes when the incident occurred.

“I am unable to reconcile the favourable driving conditions, (Sidhu’s) stated speed, and the actions Mr. Sidhu took,” said the judge.

Sidhu had a clear view of the cruiser with its emergency lights on. He would have had ample time to make a safe lane change had he been driving the speed limit, the judge added.

Chisholm expressed surprise Sidhu would have had time to honk his horn, yet make a “last-minute manoeuvre.”

Yukon prosecutor Kimberly Sova asked the judge for a $300 to $500 fine, above the $200 minimum.

She noted Sidhu had already been convicted of careless driving, in 2006, relying on his driver’s abstract.

Sidhu told the judge that he had kept a “clean record” since the 2006 conviction, and that he hadn’t intended to harm the constable in the July incident.

Sidhu told the Star he will not appeal the conviction.

The case, however, negatively influenced the outcome of the election, he said.

“My votes went down (despite) the increase in voters,” he said.

Sidhu received 470 votes on Thursday compared to 480 in the 2012 election.

Winning incumbent Dan Curtis took 4,640 votes, while Wilf Carter attracted 835.