Handling firearm nets four-year sentence

A Brandon man with several firearm-related convictions was sentenced in a Brandon provincial courtroom this week to four years in custody after what the judge described as “very brief” possession of a loaded shotgun.

Nick Hunter, 39, previously pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing a loaded prohibited firearm and two counts of breaching a firearms prohibition.

On Sept. 9, 2024, police received a report of two unwanted men sitting on a porch. When police arrived, Hunter’s co-accused got up and left, leaving Hunter and a backpack behind.

As the co-accused was leaving, police asked the men if the backpack was either of theirs, which they both denied.

Officers searched the bag and found a sawed-off shotgun inside, the court heard.

While Hunter denied that the firearm was his, the court heard he admitted to police that he handled the firearm and ejected a shell from it earlier in the day when his co-accused showed it to him.

Crown attorney Reid Girard said Hunter has “chillingly related” entries on his criminal record and that on the date of his offending, he was serving a conditional sentence — house arrest — for previous firearm offences.

His conditional sentence was terminated and he spent the remainder of his time in jail, he said.

“It’s relevant to note that he has been sentenced to many weapons prohibitions,” Girard said. “While any breach is serious, certainly when one breaches a weapons prohibition, the breach … always poses a threat to the public, and it must be taken that much more seriously.”

He asked the court to impose a sentence of three and a half years for the charge of possessing a loaded prohibited firearm and nine months for each breach — a total of five years.

He said nine months for each of the breaches is on the lower end of what’s appropriate, but “it does send an appropriate and significant message to Mr. Hunter that this behaviour simply has to stop going forward.”

Girard said the proposed sentence considered his guilty pleas and historic background factors.

Defence lawyer Holly Bellefontaine dove into those factors during her submissions.

She said Hunter’s grandmothers and great-grandparents went to residential school, and although they didn’t talk about it much, he said they turned to substances to “numb the pain.”

Hunter witnessed violence and alcohol use in his household growing up and struggled living with his father after his parents split, Bellefontaine said.

“He described having to stay in shelters, going days without food, being left alone for long periods of time, and sometimes being brought along to parties where he would witness substance abuse and violence,” she said.

The court heard Hunter started struggling with alcohol at 14 years old. At one point, he started using methamphetamine, which escalated to him using it multiple times a day.

Bellefontaine said Hunter has a 14-year-old daughter, who is in his mother’s care, and his goal is to work on himself so he can eventually regain custody and be a good role model for her.

She said during Hunter’s arrest, he was co-operative and “acknowledged the dangers that firearms can pose to the community.”

Hunter was doing well when he was released from custody previously and was working at Aurora Recovery Centre, but he ended up taking some time off from work after issues arose with his co-workers, she said, adding that it wasn’t major issues but rather “gossip” in the workplace.

“That’s when things went downhill for him.”

Bellefontaine said that while he wished he could have stayed on track, in a certain sense “he’s glad that this happened, because now he’s learned from his mistakes, learned what led up to this and has had a lot of time to reflect on what could have and should have gone differently.”

She provided the judge with a 75-page book that included letters and certificates of what Hunter had completed while in custody. She said once released, he plans on going straight into a treatment centre and eventually furthering his education.

“Mr. Hunter has clearly demonstrated immense growth and rehabilitative efforts since being in custody,” she said. “I think it’s fair to say it’s a very rare and impressive feat he’s done.”

She asked that the court impose a sentence of one year on top of the time Hunter has already spent in custody.

When given a chance to speak, Hunter said he accepted the consequences and understood his decisions “contributed to the cycle of violence in the community.”

“What I can say is that I’m committed to changing my life, and I’m already taking the steps in that direction,” he said. “I’m going to utilize my experience and knowledge to help the youth and community that struggled with adversity, gangs, trauma, addictions, and use my lifetime struggles to heal and break the cycle for my community and my family.”

Judge Patrick Sullivan said that although the firearm wasn’t Hunter’s, he nonetheless possessed it for a “very brief” time.

However, Sullivan commended his efforts while in custody.

“Your engagement with the programming in custody is exceptional, and you deserve a lot of credit,” he said.

Despite his achievements, Sullivan said the sentence needs to reflect the seriousness of the offence and send the appropriate message to him and the community.

He sentenced Hunter to three years for the possession charge and six months for each breach, minus the 400 days he has to his credit.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com