Man sentenced to time served for weapon possession

A Brandon man was sentenced to two and a half months in custody after he was repeatedly caught possessing weapons.

Kody Tuck, 28, pleaded guilty to being unlawfully in a dwelling house, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and two counts of possessing a weapon. He was also charged for breaching conditions of his undertaking and release order.

On Aug. 28, Brandon Police Service responded to a vacant residence owned by Manitoba Housing on Third Street after receiving a report that people were possibly inside.

“All windows and doors of the residence had been boarded up and secured, with the exception of the attic hatch,” Crown attorney Caroline Lacey said. “The attic door had been removed and was found on the ground beside the residence.”

When officers searched the residence, they found one woman and two men — one of whom identified himself as Tuck.

Lacey said it was confirmed that nobody was supposed to be in the residence.

Tuck was released on an appearance notice.

Three days later, BPS responded to a report of two men who had tried to enter a parked vehicle around Seventh Street and Queens Avenue but ran away after a witness scared them off.

The witness gave a description of the men to police, and a few minutes later, officers found Tuck less than a block away and matching the description, Lacey said.

While speaking with Tuck, officers noticed a canister of bear spray in his hoodie pocket and arrested him. Police also found a folding knife when they searched him further.

On Oct. 1, while officers were patrolling the area of Sixth Street and Aberdeen Avenue, they saw a man standing in the middle of the street.

Officers approached the man, who identified himself as Tuck, and noticed that his two front pockets were “bulging,” the Crown said.

“He was asked about the contents of the left pocket, and he replied that there were needles present,” Lacey said. “When asked about the contents of the right pocket, he replied that he couldn’t remember.”

Officers checked his pocket and found a hook-bladed knife.

Police arrested Tuck, and he responded by saying that “it’s dangerous out here” and he needed to protect himself, Lacey said.

Tuck was also wearing a bag over his shoulder, which police found had a BB gun inside.

He was arrested, transported to BPS and then released again.

On Oct. 26, BPS received a report of a man who was walking in the area of the 1300 block of 10th Street and that it appeared he had a knife.

A short time later, a BPS officer found a man who matched the description and recognized him to be Tuck. The officer searched Tuck and found a “large machete-style knife” in his backpack, Lacey said, adding that Tuck told police they would find a machete before the search.

The Crown asked for fines for unlawfully being in a dwelling house and the first weapon-possession offence, and a total sentence of 75 days of time already served for the remainder of the charges, followed by a period of supervised probation.

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson agreed that a time-served disposition was appropriate but asked for a sentence in the range of 45 days instead. He pointed out that it would still be a significant time in custody for someone who has no prior criminal record.

Judge Patrick Sullivan sentenced Tuck to pay a total of $600 in fines and 75 days of time served.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com