Man gets 75 days in jail for carrying pool ball in sock

A man was sentenced to 75 days in jail on Tuesday after he admitted to hiding a pool ball inside a sock in his waistband and not following a condition of his probation order.

Kody Tuck, 29, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court to carrying a concealed weapon and breaching an order not to own, possess or carry any weapons.

On July 5, at around 3 p.m., Brandon police received a report from a person walking their dog about a man who appeared to be holding a paintball gun, Crown attorney Caroline Lacey told the court.

Police patrolled the area, arrested Tuck and seized a paint sprayer gun and a hard pool ball in a sock, she said.

“Weapons, you know, even when they’re not being used, they create a risk extending beyond, you know, just Mr. Tuck,” Lacey said.

“They create a risk to the public and frankly to himself as well, should he get into any sort of confrontation.”

The Crown suggested Tuck face a 60-day sentence for his weapons offence with a concurrent 15-day sentence for breaching his probation.

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson agreed with the Crown’s suggestion for the weapons offence, but asked that his client be given a fine in the range of $500 for the breach.

Court heard Tuck has a Grade 10 education, was involved in the Child and Family Services system growing up and was mostly raised by his mother. He is Indigenous and has relatives who attended residential schools.

“Mr. Tuck faces some challenges regarding housing as well as finances and addictions issues. But I can note that while he’s been in custody, he has been … sort of working to try and deal with some of those,” Dawson said.

“He’s very much recognizing that alcohol is a serious problem for him, and he’s wanting to take further treatment when he’s out of custody.”

Tuck declined to make a statement before Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta sentenced him to 60 days for the weapons charge with a 15-day consecutive sentence for breaching probation.

“When you pull the sock with the pool ball out, the other person might have a gun. (There’s) lots of cases around here involving guns lately, and they might shoot you,” she said.

“Whether you care about anything else, you should at least give some thought to your own safety and the dangerous situation that you’re potentially putting yourself in carrying something like that around town.”

Tuck has spent 45 days with enhanced credit at the Brandon Correctional Centre and will serve 30 more days in jail.

Hewitt-Michta said she wasn’t surprised to see Tuck back in court. He was previously sentenced for multiple charges including weapons offences in December.

“You’re capable of making different choices, and there’s people in the community who will help you with that if you’re prepared to do the work that I think would be required for you to set yourself on a different path,” she said.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com