Possession of Weapons Offences (Sentencing Cases)

This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2023. (Rev. # 89777)

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Includes:

• s. 88 (Poss'n for Dangerous Purpose);
• s. 89, 90 (Concealed Weapon);
• s. 117.01 (Poss'n Weapon Contrary to an Order);

Possession Offences

Case Name	Prv.	Crt.	Sentence	Summary
R v Horton, 2022 NSSC 13 (CanLII), per Campbell J	NS	SC		Find summaries of case.
R v Bieber, 2022 ONCJ 53 (CanLII)Template:Per	ON	PC	6 months imprisonment (weapon)	Find summaries of case.
R v Laing , 2021 NSPC 14 (CanLII), per Buckle J	NS	PC	18 months imprisonment 3 years probation
R v Steed , 2021 NSSC 71 (CanLII), per Roskinski J	NS	SC	4 years
R v Anderson, 2020 NSPC 10 (CanLII), per William CJ	NS	PC		"the offender was sentenced to a conditional sentence order of two years less a day plus probation for two years after being found guilty after trial of weapons offences relating to his possession of a loaded handgun in his waistband in a motor vehicle. He was youthful and had a dated criminal record. Mr. Anderson is African Nova Scotian, the Court had the benefit of an Impact of Race and Culture Assessment and evidence of good prospects for rehabilitation." [1]
R v Silvera , 2019 ONCJ 27 (CanLII), per Silverstein J	ON	PC	discharge (storage)
R c Morin, 2019 QCCQ 3190 (CanLII), per Belanger J	QC	PC	conditional discharge
R v Goodrich, 2019 ABPC 250 (CanLII), per LeGrandeur J	AB	PC	90 days
R v Dalton, 2018 ONSC 544 (CanLII), per Garton J	ON	SC
R c Bilodeau Joseph, 2019 QCCQ 7248 (CanLII), per Fafard J	QC	PC	18 months imprisonment
R v Abma, 2019 BCPC 268 (CanLII), per Cutler J	BC	PC	18 months (global)
R v Hussein, 2019 ONCJ 25 (CanLII), per Bourgeois J	ON	PC	30 months imprisonment
R v Motevalli, 2019 BCSC 162 (CanLII), per Macintosh J	BC	SC	30 months imprisonment
R v Padda, 2019 BCCA 351 (CanLII), per Harris JA	BC	CA	30 months imprisonment
R v Leblanc, 2019 BCSC 536 (CanLII), per Norell J	BC	SC	3 years imprisonment
R c Aurelus-Marmontel, 2019 QCCQ 4613 (CanLII), per Faullem J	QC	PC	5 years
R v Yang , 2018 ONCA 230 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	Suspended Sentence (storage) (5.5 months on remand)	The accused was a licenced gun owner who fired a semi-automatic 45 caliber Sig Sauer in his apartment while intoxicated. Court of appeal overturned a conditional discharge ordered by Justice Webber.
R v Dalton , 2018 ONSC 544 (CanLII), per Garton J	ON	SC	CSO and probation	"guilty plea in the SCJ to possess loaded restricted firearm hidden in his family home, kept it to “protect” his son, 1 year CSO on top of the equivalent of 15 months presentence custody, dated criminal record including a firearm offence."
R v Bokhari , 2018 ONCA 183 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	14 months jail	"an offender with a shotgun hidden in his home. The offender was sentenced after a contested OCJ trial;"
R v Boussoulas, 2018 ONCA 222 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	21 months jail	"a 65-year old offender with no criminal record. The illegal gun was loaded and in his home. There was no other connected criminal activity. The offender’s possession was to protect himself and his family from threats made against them. He pled guilty after an unsuccessful SCJ Charter application;"
R v Halpenny, 2018 NSSC 30 (CanLII), per Cacchione J	NS	SC	30 months imprisonment	The offender was sentenced for "six offences relating to his possession of loaded and unloaded restricted and prohibited handguns and silencers. The offender was 57 years old with a dated and unrelated criminal record. He was a hunter and gun collector. The weapons were in a locked building on his rural property. The aggravating factors included that four of the 15 firearms seized were handguns, three of the handguns were loaded, two of the long guns were wrapped in plastic and hidden in the ceiling, three of the handguns were concealed but readily accessible in the garage and he was also in possession of items normally worn and used by police officers such as police rain gear, duty belt and body armor." [2]
R v Earle, 2018 NLSC 257 (CanLII), per Khaladkar J	NL	SC		"the offender was sentenced to 30 months in custody in addition to five and a half months of pre-trial credit for various offences relating to an armed stand-off with police. He was suicidal and wanted to die by having the police kill him." [3]
R v Kirstein, 2018 ABPC 89 (CanLII), per Skene J	AB	PC
R v Wilson, 2018 BCSC 1405 (CanLII), per Crossin J	BC	SC	30 months imprisonment
R v Wright, 2018 ONSC 4209 (CanLII), per Corrick J	ON	SC	2 years less a day
R v Perry, 2018 NSSC 16 (CanLII), per Wood J	NS	SC	20 months less a day
R v Roeske, 2018 ONCJ 874 (CanLII), per Perkins-McVey J	ON	PC	2 years less a day (global)
R v Sellars, 2018 BCCA 195 (CanLII), per Smith JA	BC	CA	2 years less a day (global)
Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales c. Brulé, 2018 QCCQ 12233 (CanLII), per Bonin J	QC	PC	18 months imprisonment
R v Mahamet-Zene, 2018 ONSC 1050 (CanLII), per Akhtar J	ON	SC	42 months	"on a 24 year old offender with no criminal record. The loaded firearm had a bullet in the chamber, and the offender was carrying it in a backpack he left hanging off a fence while chatting with friends on the street. He had a contested SCJ trial;"
R v Thavakularatnam, 2018 ONSC 2380 (CanLII), per Akhtar J	ON	SC	40 months	"a 20 year old offender with no “adult criminal record”. He was carrying the loaded firearm in a mall. While there was no other connected criminal activity apparent, he was on bail and had injured police in an attempt to flee. He pled guilty after an unsuccessful Charter argument in the SCJ"
R v Baglee, 2017 YKTC 54 (CanLII)	YK	SC
R v Vanayan, 2017 BCSC 1820 (CanLII), per Arnold-Bailey J	BC	SC	32 months imprisonment
R v Mansingh, 2017 ONCA 68 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	43 months	"The offender was “young”, had no criminal record, and discarded the loaded firearm on the ground during flight from police. The firearm possession offence was connected to marijuana trafficking. He had a contested SCJ trial;"
R c Moisescu, 2017 QCCQ 2093 (CanLII), per Lachance J	QC	PC	3 years imprisonment
R c Desjardins, 2017 QCCA 196 (CanLII), per curiam	QC	CA	1 year
R v Hassan, 2017 ONSC 4570 (CanLII), per Backhouse J	ON	SC	2 years less a day CSO	The offender was convicted at trial of numerous firearms offences. He was found in his vehicle while in possession of an unloaded prohibited firearm and had ammo in his pocket. He was 24 years old and had a minor criminal record. He was on bail at time. He had "22 days PSC and 35 months restrictive bail terms, found guilty after unsuccessful SCJ Charter application."
R v Nsiah, 2017 ONSC 769 (CanLII), per Goldstein J	ON	SC	2.5 years imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Squires, 2017 CanLII 17175 (NLPC), per Skanes J	NL	PC	2 years and prob.	The offender pleaded guilty to s. 95(1), s. 117.01 and s. 108(1)(b). The judge rejected the request for a conditional sentence. [per Skanes PCJ]
R v Redden, 2017 NSSC 172 (CanLII), per Chipman J	NS	SC	2 years less a day (global)
R c Colangelo, 2017 QCCA 195 (CanLII), per curiam	QC	CA
R v Shunmuganathan, 2016 ONCJ 519 (CanLII), per Blouin J	ON	PC	2 years less a day (global)
R v Owchar, 2016 ABPC 102 (CanLII), per Barley J	AB	PC	18 months imprisonment
R v Kennedy, 2016 MBCA 5 (CanLII), per Hamilton JA	MB	CA	3 years imprisonment
R v Pelletier , 2016 BCSC 2497 (CanLII), per Kelleher J	BC	SC	suspended, 3 years
R v Shunmoganathan, 2016 ONCJ 519 (CanLII), per Blouin J	ON	PC	2 years less a day CSO	The offender was found guilty of storing a gun in her bedroom closet with ammunition in her pocket in a jacket nearby. She was 18 years old.
R v Sears, 2016 BCSC 965 (CanLII), per Betton J	BC	SC	19 months CSO	Summary of case is pending.
R v Armstrong, 2016 BCPC 94 (CanLII), per Morgan J	BC	PC	60 days imprisonment
R v Skinner, 2016 NSCA 54 (CanLII), per Saunders JA	NS	CA		"the Appeal Court imposed a sentence of 6.5 years on an offender who had pleaded guilty to a number of firearms offences. Mr. Skinner was the passenger in a car that was driving in a busy residential area of north end Halifax at around 11 a.m. He had a semi-automatic pistol and directed the driver to follow another car. When the other car stopped, Mr. Skinner drove past and Mr. Skinner fired six shots in the direction of the other vehicle with the pistol. Five of the shots hit the vehicle. Mr. Skinner was youthful but had a significant criminal record including three previous convictions for possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm and was subject to a firearms prohibition order at the time of the offences. He had also already pleaded guilty to offences arising out of his arrest the next day when he was found in a vehicle with the same handgun he had used the previous day, but reloaded, tucked into his waistband. For those offences, the Court had imposed the jointly recommended sentence of five years in custody in addition to four months of pre-trial custody. The appeal court did not interfere with the judge’s discretion to order that the sentences for the offences arising out of the shooting be served concurrently to the sentences for the offences arising out of the arrest." [4]
R c Di Ruzza, 2016 QCCQ 9275 (CanLII), per Poulin J	QC	PC	16 months imprisonment
R v Armstrong, 2016 BCPC 94 (CanLII), per Morgan J	BC	PC	60 days (global)
R v Haus, 2016 BCPC 11 (CanLII), per Keyes J	BC	PC	6 months (global)
R c Green, 2016 QCCA 379 (CanLII), per JA	QC	CA
R v Devink, 2016 BCSC 1658 (CanLII), per Young J	BC	SC	1 years imprisonment (global)
R c Julien, 2016 QCCQ 7014 (CanLII), per Beaulieu J	QC	PC	20 months imprisonment
R v Shomonov, 2016 ONSC 4015 (CanLII), per McCombs J	ON	SC	21 months imprisonment	"a 29-year old first offender. There was no other criminal activity connected to the firearm possession, but there were two firearms found in the offender’s work unit inside a strip mall. Both guns were unloaded but had ammunition readily accessible. McCombs J. accepted the offender’s possession was to protect himself from robbery. He noted, at para. 7, that this reason was not a mitigating factor but still relevant to sentence;"
R c Spiezia, 2016 QCCQ 12825 (CanLII)	QC	PC	26 months
R c De Gregorio, 2016 QCCQ 14356 (CanLII), per Fafard J	QC	PC	32 months imprisonment
R v McClellan , 2015 BCPC 129 (CanLII), per Hoy J	BC	PC	fine
R v Cadienhead, , [2015] O.J. No. 3125(*no CanLII links)	ON		2 years less 1 day	"a young male, on probation, carrying a loaded gun, serial number defaced, on a residential street."
R v Rutledge, 2015 ONSC 6625 (CanLII), per Wien J	ON	SC	18 months imprisonment and Probation	The offender was convicted at trial for possessing three prohibited handguns and careless storage of several long-guns and ammunition. His son and step-son were involved in drug dealing, which he facilitated by letting them use his farm property. He was found responsible on a standard of wilful blindness. He was 56 years old.
R v Phinn, 2015 NSCA 27 (CanLII)	NS	CA		"the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal upheld a sentence of six years for an accused who was found guilty of weapons offences relating to a loaded handgun. Mr. Phinn had been at the scene of a street fight involving a large number of people. He was arrested and released but a short time later was arrested again as the passenger in a motor vehicle. A loaded handgun was found under his seat and the trial judge was satisfied that he had carried the gun into the vehicle. He had a previous record which included two prior convictions for possessing loaded handguns and was on a weapons prohibition at the time of the offence." [5]
R v Crathorne, 2015 NSPC 1 (CanLII), per Chisholm J	NS	PC		"the offender was sentenced to 10 months in custody for possession of a prohibited firearm and five months consecutive for violation of a firearms prohibition order. He boarded a Halifax city bus with an unloaded sawed-off shotgun, showed it to a passenger and placed it inside his coat. The driver woke him when he fell asleep and the gun fell out. At the time he was the subject of a firearms prohibition order. He had a previous record, but no previous convictions for weapons offences. He was youthful, had cooperated with police, suffered from substance abuse and mental health challenges for which he was getting help." [6]
R v Laponsee, 2015 ONCA 344 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	1 year (global)
R v O'Neill, 2015 BCSC 780 (CanLII), per Smith J	BC	SC	2 years less a day (global)
R c Ulysse, 2015 QCCQ 10576 (CanLII), per Lavergne J	QC	PC	18 months imprisonment
R v Marshall, 2015 ONCA 692 (CanLII), per Cronk JA	ON	CA	3.5 years	"The offender was 23, had no criminal record, and had left the loaded firearm in a satchel at his friend’s house while stepping out for lunch. The firearm offence was connected to cocaine trafficking. He had a contested SCJ trial;"
R v Holt, 2015 BCCA 302 (CanLII), per Newbury JA	BC	CA	30 months imprisonment
R v Beals, 2015 ONSC 2911 (CanLII), per Goldstein J	ON	SC	3 years imprisonment
R c Kaluza, 2014 QCCQ 11283 (CanLII), per Marchi J	QC	PC	suspended, 2 years
R v Browne, 2014 ONSC 4217 (CanLII), per Campbell J	ON	SC	3 years imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Hector, 2014 ONSC 1970 (CanLII), per MacDonnell J	ON	SC	6 years imprisonment (global)	Summary of case is pending.
R c Cadieux, 2014 QCCQ 670 (CanLII), per Weitzman J	QC	PC	6 months (global)
R v Smickle, 2014 ONCA 49 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	2 years less one day jail	"The offender was 27 years old and had no criminal record. The gun was loaded and was in the offender’s physical possession when police entered the apartment. There was no connection to other criminal activity, and the defendant had a contested SCJ trial;"
Lévis Mercier c. Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales, 2014 QCCQ 3020 (CanLII), per Grimard J	QC	PC	3 years
R c Gardner, 2013 QCCQ 1308 (CanLII), per Marchand J	QC	PC	conditional discharge
R v Barr and Cross, 2011 BCPC 484 (CanLII), per Bahen J	BC	PC	$10,000 fine
R v Kurkcuoglu , 2010 BCSC 633 (CanLII), per Morrison J	BC	SC	conditional discharge
R v Nuttley, 2013 ONCJ 727 (CanLII), per Brown J	ON	PC	13 months CSO	Summary of case is pending.
R v Charles, 2013 ONCA 681 (CanLII), per Cronk JA	ON	CA	7 years imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Davis, 2013 ABPC 69 (CanLII), per Lamoureux J	AB	PC	12 months / 4 years imprisonment (global)	Offender sentenced for unsafe storage. He had a shotgun, brass knuckles and stolen property
R v Blagdon, 2013 NSPC 93 (CanLII), per Derrick JA	NS	PC		"an 18-month conditional sentence was imposed on the passenger in a car where a loaded revolver was located. The offender had an unrelated prior criminal record. He was in the company of the driver (who received six years) in downtown Halifax shortly after the driver fired three times in the direction of another person." [7]
R v Nuttley, 2013 ONCJ 727 (CanLII), per Brown J	ON	PC
R v Vandyke, 2013 ABPC 347 (CanLII), per Lamoureux J	AB	PC	1 year
R v Strang, 2013 CarswellNfld 77, 2013 CarswellNfld 202(*no CanLII links)	NS			"the offender was given a suspended sentence with probation after pleading guilty to careless use of a firearm. He had discharged a shotgun into the air as part of a Canada Day celebration and later assisted his very drunk friend to do the same. They were drinking and fired the shots from a deck above the roofs of houses in a subdivision. He was a youthful first-time offender." [8]
R v Scarlett, 2013 ONSC 562 (CanLII), per Strathy J	ON	SC	3 years imprisonment
R v Cater, 2012 NSPC 38 (CanLII), per Derrick J	NS	PC		"the offender was sentenced to eight years’ custody less the time he had served pre-trial for offences relating to the illegal possession and trafficking firearms. The offences included possession of a loaded prohibited sawed-off shotgun, possession of an unloaded prohibited handgun together with readily accessible ammunition, and the firearms trafficking offences which carried mandatory minimum sentences. One of the weapons was fully automatic and he had over-capacity magazines. He was very youthful, had no previous firearms related offences on his record and had good prospects for rehabilitation." [9]
R v Ramirez, 2012 ABPC 176 (CanLII), per Fradsham J	AB	PC	discharge	no record
R v Clarke, 2012 CanLII 60848 (NL PC, per Porter J	NL	PC	60 days imprisonment (poss'n) 30 days imprisonment (assault x 2) 30 days imprisonment (breach x 2)	The offender was convicted of assaulting two persons and carrying a knife while he committed the two assaults.
R v Carbone, 2012 ONCJ 22 (CanLII), per Cole J	ON	PC	60 days
R c Hanopol, 2012 QCCQ 7384 (CanLII), per Healy J	QC	PC	1 year
R v Hill, 2011 NSPC 28 (CanLII), per Hoskins J	NS	PC		"the offender was sentenced to 12 months in custody after pleading guilty to firearms offences. He was found in possession of an unloaded handgun which was located in a cargo toolbox in the rear of his truck He had a significant prior record which included serious drug offences, was on parole at the time of the offence and was violating a lifetime firearm prohibition order. His pre-sentence report was relatively positive and he had the ability to be gainfully employed." [10]
R v Sousa, 2011 ONSC 6463 (CanLII), per MacDonnell J	ON	SC	2.5 years imprisonment	handgun
R v Chan, 2011 NSSC 471 (CanLII), per Wright J	NS	SC		"the offender was sentenced to 11 years in custody after being convicted of numerous weapons offences. The offences related to two different dates. On one, he entered a shop with his face covered and fired a handgun three times in the direction of a person with whom he had an altercation. There were innocent bystanders present and one bullet went through the wall, entering an adjacent shop. He was arrested eight days later and found in possession of the same handgun that had been used in the earlier incident. His actions in the shop were described as brazen and reckless, endangering others who were in the shop and the proprietor of an adjacent store. He had a significant criminal record including related offences and was the subject of a firearms prohibition order at the time of the offences." [11]
R v Mathews, 2011 ABPC 324 (CanLII), per Brown J	AB	PC	2 years less a day (global)
R v Beaman, 2010 NBQB 103 (CanLII), per Grant J	NB	SC	3 months (global)
R c Parasiris, 2009 QCCA 709 (CanLII), per curiam	QC	CA		{{{5}}}
R v Grice, 2008 ONCJ 476 (CanLII), per Puglsey J	ON	PC	$500 fine (storage)	Someone found accused was videotaping ex-wife in shower, found carelessly stored .22 cal rifle.
R v Ugodnikov, 2008 ABPC 249 (CanLII), per Stevens-Guille J	AB	PC	60 days imprisonment	The offender was convicted of wielding a knife while in a busy Edmonton street crowd during the hockey playoffs. He had no prior record. The pre-sentence report was positive. The judge stated that the offence was highly dangerous and needed general deterrence.
R v Norris, 2005 BCPC 392 (CanLII), per Gove J	BC	PC
R v Bell, 2005 ONCJ 438 (CanLII), per Harris J	ON	PC

Possession of a Weapon Contrary to an Order (117.01)

Case Name	Prv.	Crt.	Sentence	Summary
R v Morrow, 2011 BCCA 155 (CanLII), per Neilson JA	BC	CA	5 years imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Chan, 2011 NSSC 471 (CanLII), per Wright J	NS	SC	1 year imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Barnett, 2011 BCPC 320 (CanLII), per Raven J	BC	PC	30 months imprisonment	also convicted of trafficking (30 months)
R v Charles, 2010 ONSC 5437 (CanLII), per Backhouse J	ON	SC	5 months imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Lavers, 2010 NLCA 73 (CanLII), [2010] NJ No 390 (NLCA), per Welsh JA	NL	CA	2 months imprisonment	Summary of case is pending.
R v Maddigan, 2009 ONCA 269 (CanLII), per curiam	ON	CA	12 months imprisonment consecutive	connection to Hells Angels; also convicted of firearms offences (2 years)
R v Clark, 2008 ABPC 371 (CanLII), per Dunnigan J	AB	PC	2 years imprisonment	also convicted of drug trafficking (4 years)
R v Boutilier, 2006 NLTD 30 (CanLII), [2006] NJ No 42 (NLSC), per O'Regan J	NL	SC	3 years imprisonment (also convicted for other firearm offences)	1 year
R v Moss, 2006 NLTD 98 (CanLII), [2006] NJ No 174 (SC), per Schwartz J	NL	SC	1 year imprisonment	also charged w robbery (9 years); guilty plea