Admitted gang member facing firearm charges denied bail

A self-proclaimed gang member from Waywayseecappo First Nation was denied bail on Tuesday after Brandon police say he was involved in stealing and trafficking firearms in March.

A judge raised concerns about whether the public’s trust in the justice system would be undermined by releasing 32-year-old Jordan Brandon, who allegedly told police he sawed off three stolen shotguns and disposed of the remaining parts near a park.

In his police statement, Brandon denied breaking into a house and taking any items, including about nine firearms, while the homeowner was away on March 27, despite being arrested in possession of a shotgun and shotgun shell the following month, court heard.

“I am concerned that a gang member is found to be in possession of a sawed-off firearm with ammunition,” said Judge Geoffrey Bayly, who appeared virtually in Brandon provincial court.

Brandon, who appeared in court virtually from the Brandon Correctional Centre, faces multiple firearm offences, including break and enter, trafficking firearms, unauthorized possession of a firearm without a licence, careless storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon with ammunition and possession of property obtained by crime involving a motor vehicle.

Crown attorney Easton Lacey said Brandon police were patrolling the west end and drove past a house on Elviss Crescent that was alleged to have had prior involvement in criminal activity.

“They had observed a grey truck parked outside of the residence, and so police parked their cruiser in a nearby parking lot to watch the flow of traffic coming off of that street,” she said.

A few minutes later, they saw a grey GMC truck driving toward the house and ran the licence plates, which showed the vehicle was registered to a 76-year-old man who lived at a house on 22nd Street.

Police tried to pull the vehicle over to see if the driver, who appeared to be in their 20s, had permission to use the vehicle.

The truck pulled into the 7-Eleven parking lot near 26th Street before it sped off.

“It was driving down the wrong side of the road at speeds of 80 to 90 kilometres per hour,” Lacey said.

“They watched the truck drive away (and) run a red light before turning onto Victoria Avenue.”

Police went to the address of the vehicle’s registered owner, and a neighbour told officers the homeowner was out of town. Later that day, the neighbour phoned police, saying the man’s home looked like it had been broken into and his truck was still missing.

Police returned to the house and found the back door handle was broken, hanging slightly off the doorframe.

“They went inside the residence and found dry muddy shoeprints throughout the house,” Lacey said.

“They found a gun safe inside that had been pried open, and it was empty.”

Police said cabinet drawers had been rummaged through, items were knocked over and there was no one inside the home.

Police continued to search for the stolen truck, which was found unoccupied before noon in the 100 block of 29th Street.

Officers seized five firearms from the truck but learned that about nine guns had been stolen from the house, as well as foreign currency, two cameras, car keys and a garage door opener, Lacey said.

Police reviewed video surveillance that showed five people, including Brandon, carrying items from a truck into the home on Elviss Crescent around 9 a.m., Lacey said.

The surveillance footage showed Brandon stayed back as four people got into the car, which eventually led police on the high-speed chase before they abandoned the vehicle and took a taxi to the City Centre Hotel.

Police went to the hotel and arrested a suspect who told officers he was among a group of people who broke into the man’s house and stole guns before stopping at a house near École New Era School to sell three of the weapons, Lacey said.

On March 28, police arrested several suspects at the Colonial Inn, where police found more of the victim’s missing items.

The following month, police found parts of firearms sticking out of a garbage can in Queen Elizabeth Park and believed the pieces were connected to the March theft.

The trash contained a notebook and mail linked to another suspect that police arrested. Officers got a search warrant and found shotgun shells and a sawed-off shotgun inside the ceiling, Lacey said.

The suspect told police he was at a house when Brandon and others showed up wanting to sell him guns, Lacey said.

On April 29, police located Brandon on Ninth Street and arrested him. Police allege he had a shotgun shell in his pocket and a sawed-off shotgun inside a bag he was carrying.

Police also searched his home and allegedly found 14 rifle cartridges.

Brandon gave a statement to police, saying he wasn’t involved with the break and enter but that he helped book a hotel room where some of the suspects stayed. He said he was picked up in the stolen truck and was given three guns that he later sawed off.

He allegedly told officers he disposed of some remaining parts of the guns behind a residence near a park. Brandon also said he is a member of the Westside Blood street gang, Lacey said.

“These are extremely serious allegations that include firearms, that include potential gang involvement, the selling and trafficking of guns, and so that is our concern,” she said.

“The gravity of gun crime cannot be exaggerated. Guns kill and maim, terrorize and intimidate, and that’s why criminals want them, and that’s why they use them.”

The Crown said it’s not uncommon for break-ins to be targeted when a victim is known to have firearms.

Defence lawyer Ashley Fouad disagreed with Lacey’s suggestion that Brandon would be a risk to the community if he was released.

“This is someone who’s very willing to follow court orders, and from (a) defence perspective, he’s entitled to have the benefit of the doubt on that as well,” Fouad said.

She said Brandon has five children under the age of nine, has experience working in trades and no criminal record.

His bail plan included a promise to pay $3,500 and a $1,500 surety. It also included conditions to reside in Waywayseecappo First Nation with his mother, abide by a curfew, not to possess any weapons, not to contact any of the co-accused and abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs.

None of the allegations have been tested in court. Brandon’s next court date is Sept. 15.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com