Bail denied for man facing weapons charges

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This article was published 22/08/2023 (1119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man facing allegations of storing stolen firearms in his apartment will remain behind bars as his charges work their way through the court system.

Robert Bone was denied bail in court Monday morning after a judge raised concerns with his record for weapons and violence. Bone is facing numerous firearms and weapons charges from earlier this year.

Crown attorney Reid Girard read the evidence for the charges. The charges against Bone have not been proven in court and he remains innocent until proven guilty.

At the beginning of January 2023, a Brandon couple had numerous items, including firearms, stolen from their home during a break-in.

Brandon Police officers received information about where the firearms might be, and officers were able to get a search warrant.

The man who lived at the apartment let police inside to search. Once inside, police found a hiking-style backpack which contained three of the stolen firearms. The fourth stolen firearm was found in a storage area in the apartment.

When police took statements from the man and his girlfriend at the time, he told police that he did not bring the guns into the apartment.

The man made a successful bail application after he was charged and was released. In the time leading up to his most recent charges, the man was charged for multiple domestic assaults against his girlfriend, including allegedly hitting her with a pipe.

On July 14, police searched the man’s apartment after being called to help his ex-girlfriend’s mother pick up her daughter’s belongings.

Once inside, police found a homemade club with blades attached to it near a couch in the living room. A large, serrated knife was also found inside a tear in a rocking chair. A collapsible baton was found under the memory foam padding in the bedroom as well as a small bag of methamphetamine in the top drawer of the dresser in the same room.

Girard pointed to Bone’s criminal record of convictions for violence and non-compliance with court orders in his submissions arguing against Bone’s release.

“Given that he seems to be incapable of following his release order conditions and a weapons prohibition condition,” Girard said. “And that, in the Crown’s submission, puts the community at risk and [the assault victim] at risk.”

Bone’s defence lawyer, Jennifer Janssens focused her submissions on pointing out holes in the Crown’s case against her client. Janssens said that the Crown’s reading of the evidence missed the context surrounding the allegations.

The defence lawyer said that in July, Bone had been in and out of custody and that the weapons belonged to other people who had been staying at his apartment while he was away.

She also said that Bone’s girlfriend at the time gave a statement to police that she took responsibility for the guns and though she is the complainant in the assault allegations, Janssens said that the woman continues to come over to Bone’s apartment despite a no-contact court order.

The defence lawyer presented a bail plan for her client that would have him living on house arrest at his apartment in Brandon with the condition that Brandon police could search the home twice a month.

Ultimately, judge Patrick Sullivan sided with the Crown and denied Bone’s release.

“What concerns me is the combination of the weapons and violence in terms of these allegations as a whole,” Sullivan said, adding that Bone had been released on bail before, but was repeatedly unable to abide by release conditions.

Bone’s matter will next appear in court on Sept. 7.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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