A driver accused of travelling as fast as 165 km/h on Highway 401 has been acquitted of refusing a breath test after an Ontario judge found his limited English created reasonable doubt that he understood the officer's demand.

Ontario Court Justice Jennifer Trehearne found Jhon Plazas Castillo not guilty of refusing to provide a breath sample following a March 9, 2025 traffic stop.

Trehearne is a recent addition to the bench. She was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice by the Ford government in June 2025. According to the Ontario government, Trehearne was called to the bar in 2004 and worked primarily as a criminal defence lawyer before becoming a judge.

The case began at approximately 4:50 a.m. when OPP Const. Gavin Rowe spotted Plazas Castillo driving a black Toyota eastbound on Highway 401.

Go Ad Free

Rowe testified that he paced the vehicle travelling between 150 and 165 km/h in a 100 km/h zone, prompting a stunt-driving investigation and traffic stop.

Communication difficulties emerged almost immediately.

When Rowe instructed Plazas Castillo to roll down his window, the driver instead raised his hands. He eventually rolled it down after Rowe repeated the direction while making a rolling motion with his hand and pointing downward.

Plazas Castillo was able to answer some questions in English and provide documents requested by the officer, but Trehearne found that some of his apparent understanding could have resulted from Rowe's gestures and the circumstances rather than his comprehension of English.

About two minutes into the stop, Rowe formally demanded that Plazas Castillo provide a breath sample into an approved screening device.

Plazas Castillo initially appeared to say “yeah” and nodded slightly when asked whether he understood.

But Rowe continued explaining the demand in simpler terms. When the officer showed him the screening device and again asked whether he understood, Plazas Castillo said no.

After Rowe explained that the device would determine whether he had alcohol in his system, Plazas Castillo repeatedly responded, “I don't want to do it.”

Rowe warned him that refusing to provide the sample was a criminal offence and could result in his arrest.

Plazas Castillo repeatedly asked to call his lawyer.

Rowe told him he could speak with a lawyer later, but the breath demand had to be dealt with immediately. Asked again whether he understood, Plazas Castillo said no and told the officer, “I don't get it.”

The parties also disputed whether Plazas Castillo requested a translator during the encounter.

After reviewing the officer's body-worn camera footage multiple times, Trehearne concluded that he did.

The judge did not find Rowe was lying when he testified that he had not heard a request for a translator. Instead, Trehearne concluded the officer simply didn't hear it.

But Trehearne found Rowe should have done more to determine whether the driver actually understood him.

The officer never asked what language Plazas Castillo spoke, whether he required a translator, or asked him to explain in his own words what he understood the breath demand to mean.

Trehearne found Rowe had an “obligation to make some reasonable inquiries” into Plazas Castillo's ability to understand English.

The interaction continued outside the vehicle, where Rowe again explained that Plazas Castillo could either provide the sample or be arrested for refusing.

At one point, Plazas Castillo put his wrists together as though preparing to be handcuffed.

Rowe eventually gave him “one last chance” to provide a sample. Plazas Castillo shook his head and, when directly asked whether he was refusing, answered “yeah.”

He was arrested roughly four minutes after the traffic stop began.

There was significant evidence suggesting Plazas Castillo understood what was happening.

Trehearne acknowledged that his repeated statements that he did not want to provide a sample clearly demonstrated that he was declining to do so.

The judge described Plazas Castillo putting his wrists together after being warned about arrest as the “strongest evidence for the Crown” that he understood he had to provide the sample immediately or face arrest.

But that still wasn't enough for a conviction.

To prove the offence, the Crown had to establish beyond a reasonable doubt not only that Plazas Castillo refused the test, but that he understood he was legally required to provide the sample and that he had to do so immediately.

Trehearne pointed to English being his second language, his request for a translator, five occasions on which he indicated he did not understand the breath demand, other apparent misunderstandings, the formal language used by Rowe, loud highway traffic, the short interaction and Plazas Castillo's apparent stress.

“This was a close case,” Trehearne wrote.

The judge acknowledged the evidence might establish that Plazas Castillo “probably or likely understood” what the officer was demanding.

But that isn't the criminal standard.

“I am not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he understood it,” Trehearne concluded. “In the circumstances, I find Mr. Plazas Castillo not guilty of refusing to provide a breath sample.”

Plazas Castillo was acquitted.