Man with firearms in bag gets over 2 years

A man was sentenced to more than two years behind bars on Friday after police found him with firearms while experiencing what was described as a “mental health crisis.”

James Pulak previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm without a licence while knowing he was unauthorized to possess it and possessing a firearm while prohibited.

Before delivering her sentence in Brandon provincial court, Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta went over the circumstances that brought Pulak into custody.

On March 30, 2023, police were called to a report regarding Pulak, who “was clearly in a mental health crisis,” and found a bag on the ground near him with two firearms inside, she said.

She said one of the firearms was non-restricted and the other was a sawed-off prohibited firearm with the serial number “obliterated.”

“Both were unloaded, and there was no ammunition in the bag, thank goodness,” Hewitt-Michta said.

Crown attorney Reid Girard asked the court to sentence Pulak to 20 months for the possession charge and eight months for possessing the firearm while prohibited, less the equivalent of 584 days of time he has spent in custody.

He said a significant custodial sentence is required to ensure Pulak understands the seriousness of his offences, but also acknowledged that the Crown’s proposed sentence is likely on the lower end.

Girard said there were several factors the Crown took into consideration, including Pulak’s mental state at the time and that there was no readily accessible ammunition with the firearms.

“One of the firearms … was not in operating condition at the time it was located, it could not be made to discharge due to a missing bolt handle,” he said. However, he noted that the installation of a bolt handle, if Pulak had one, would only take about 15 seconds.

Despite this, Girard said the firearms still posed an “immediate, pressing risk to public safety.”

Defence lawyer Brett Gladstone, who asked that Pulak receive a sentence of time already served, emphasized the uniqueness of Pulak’s case.

Gladstone asked the court to find a significant reduction in moral culpability because of the mental crisis Pulak was experiencing at the time.

“When the police came upon him, he was trying to give CPR to an empty jacket, which is quite telling from the perspective of the defence,” he said.

Pulak was using methamphetamine that day, and is not experienced in using the drug, the lawyer said.

“A psychotic episode will flow from that sort of thing,” he said.

Gladstone said he found the circumstances concerning, but for a different reason than the Crown.

“Clearly Mr. Pulak was not in control and was in possession of firearms. Thank God there was no way for those firearms to actually be used … There’s a lot of ways this could have been really bad, and I appreciate that.”

However, he said Pulak has no idea what led him to possess the firearms in the first place, as they didn’t belong to him.

Gladstone urged the court to heavily consider the uniqueness of Pulak’s circumstances and what would be best for Pulak’s rehabilitation.

Hewitt-Michta said that while she’s concerned about what is best for Pulak going forward, she also has to consider what’s best for the public and impose a sentence that sends the right message.

“I’m not doing my job here today unless the sentence that I give you sends a clear message to you that you’re in big trouble and you’re going to suffer serious consequences if you do this kind of thing again, and also that that message goes out to other people,” she told Pulak.

Hewitt-Michta sentenced Pulak to the time he has already served, which is roughly 20 months, for the possession charge and six months for possessing the firearm without a licence.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com