Man jailed for failing to turn over dead man’s gun
He found a dead man’s gun. Instead of turning it over to police, the 42-year-old man kept it and at one point waved it in front of his intimate partner. He was sentenced in Kitchener court to one year in jail.
The owner of the CZ 75B 9 mm semi-automatic handgun separated from his wife in 2021, court was told Tuesday. She moved out of their Kitchener house. Her husband, who was licensed to possess the restricted handgun, remained there. He died last December.
The woman and her new partner then moved in.
The gun owner’s brother dropped by to collect the firearm. “It was not found,” said Crown prosecutor Anthony Gallo.
The brother told police the gun was missing. On Dec. 8, police told the woman and her partner to call them if they found it.
When they found it in the house, some time in December, they did not call police.
On Jan. 4, the pair argued over who would give the gun to police. The man, with the gun in the pocket of a sweater he was wearing, tried to leave. She stood at the door to stop him.
“She began pulling at his sweater, at which point the accused began waving the firearm,” Gallo said.
The woman’s daughter recorded video of the altercation.
The man left with the gun and drove off. Police pulled him over and seized the weapon.
The man has a long record and was under a weapons ban when he was arrested.
He pleaded guilty to failing to report a lost or abandoned gun to police, careless handling of a gun and having a gun while prohibited.
Guns “wreak havoc in our community,” Gallo said. “It’s critical that police be notified of the whereabouts of firearms … and that only those authorized to possess them have access. “So, in my view, any sentence must send a strong message supporting this societal need.”
Justice Melanie Sopinka agreed to a recommendation from the Crown and defence for a sentence of one year in jail, minus time served.
She also handed him a 10-year weapons ban and 18 months of probation.