Woman sentenced for storing 12 stolen rifles
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/02/2024 (673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A woman will spend a year and a half behind bars after pleading guilty to storing 12 stolen rifles in her house last year.
Kristen McFarlane, 30, pleaded guilty earlier in October to multiple weapons charges and was sentenced in Brandon provincial court on Wednesday afternoon. The Crown and defence were apart in their recommended sentence for the woman, with prosecutors asking for a two-year jail sentence and defence asking for one year behind bars.
Crown attorney Jeannelle Allard read the evidence for the charges in court.
On Jan. 5, Brandon police executed a search warrant at McFarlane’s home on 16th Street. There they retrieved 12 rifles that had been reported stolen from a break and enter to another Brandon residence a few days prior.
The rifles were improperly stored in McFarlane’s home, where there were children, the Crown said, adding that McFarlane was storing the rifles for her boyfriend at the time.
After her arrest, McFarlane also racked up numerous theft charges for shoplifting from stores in Brandon and was charged for violating court orders she had been placed on after her arrest. She pleaded guilty to these offences as well.
The Crown raised concerns about the dangers associated with the unsafe storage of the firearms.
“The message needs to be sent that people cannot store firearms for other people, no matter how innocent it might seem,” Allard said. “It’s a serious public safety issue.”
The prosecutor asked for a two-year jail sentence with a term of probation.
Defence lawyer Melissa Jenin told the court about positive improvements McFarlane has made during her time in jail (where she was held pending resolution of her charges) through her participation in jail programming. She also said her client admitted to the firearms offences right away and never intended to take those charges to trial.
Jenin said her 30-year-old client, who grew up in Carberry, had a stable childhood and supportive parents, but addiction and mental health issues led her to making the bad decisions that landed her in jail.
McFarlane made a tearful apology to the court for her offences and read a statement explaining the work she has done to improve herself while in jail and her future plans to complete her education and have a family.
Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta highlighted the seriousness of the firearms offences and emphasized her concern about McFarlane making a series of bad decisions last year, not just one.
Ultimately, the judge decided to split the difference between the Crown and defence’s recommendations and sentence the woman to a year and half behind bars. She also sentenced McFarlane to a term of probation and a 10-year firearms prohibition.
Minus time served, McFarlane will spend just under a year in jail.
» gmortfield@brandonsun.com
» X: @geena_mortfield