Michael Press

The accused was tried on a charge of conspiracy to traffic in weapons under s. 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code, with the alleged unlawful object being weapons trafficking under s. 99.

The Crown relied on intercepted communications, police surveillance, and formal admissions to prove an agreement and the accused’s participation in a weapons trafficking scheme.

The court accepted that a weapons trafficking conspiracy existed between others and that the accused may have agreed to purchase weapons or ammunition, but held the evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused shared a common design to re-sell or further distribute the weapons.

Because the circumstantial evidence supported a reasonable inference of personal use, the accused was acquitted.

In a judge-alone criminal trial for conspiracy to commit weapons trafficking, the court ruled mid-trial on the admissibility of intercepted communications.

The court held that the traditional co-conspirator exception had been supplemented by the principled hearsay approach and applied the necessity and reliability criteria from Khan.

Communications during the alleged conspiracy period, together with earlier communications that provided meaningful context and were capable of showing acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, were admitted.

More cryptic earlier communications with negligible probative value were excluded unless the Crown called a witness to explain them.

The accused pleaded guilty to nine weapons-related offences, including possession of a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, a modified .22 calibre 'zip gun', a Taser, and ammunition, all found in his residence.

At the time, he was subject to three separate lifetime weapons prohibition orders.

The Crown sought a sentence of 6 to 8 years, while the defence sought 5 years with enhanced pre-sentence credit.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence, sentencing the accused to a global term of 5.5 years imprisonment, with 1:1 credit for pre-trial custody.