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First-time offender receives conditional sentence for loaded firearm possession to avoid automatic deportation.
The offender, a permanent resident and first-time offender, was found guilty of possessing a loaded restricted firearm.
The Crown sought a 3 to 4-year penitentiary sentence, while the defence sought a conditional sentence of two years less a day to avoid automatic deportation under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The court found that the absence of typical aggravating factors, the offender's stable employment and family life, and the severe immigration consequences justified a more lenient sentence.
A conditional sentence of two years less a day was imposed, followed by one year of probation.
Accused found guilty of firearm possession based on circumstantial evidence linking him to hidden gun.
The accused was charged with knowing possession of a loaded restricted firearm after police executed search warrants at two residences.
A loaded 9mm handgun was found hidden in a child's bed in the room where the accused was detained during a dynamic entry.
At the accused's primary residence, police found identical 9mm ammunition in the pocket of a sweater in his bedroom closet.
Applying the W. (D.) framework, the court rejected the exculpatory evidence of the accused and his spouse.
The court concluded that the only reasonable inference from the circumstantial evidence was that the accused had constructive possession of the firearm and ammunition.
