ATHABASCA – A local man found with a sawed-off .22 rifle in a suitcase still has a ways to go on his prison sentence, despite spending the last 250 days behind bars while he waited for his sentencing.
In the Athabasca Court of Justice June 9 Kyle Damian Cardinal received a 600-day sentence, reduced to 244 days with time served, for possession of a prohibited firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, altering a firearm, unauthorized possession, contravening firearms regulations and failure to comply with a release order all stemming from fall 2024 incident.
On Oct. 10, Cardinal was at his mother’s residence in Calling Lake when the RCMP received a call for a firearms complaint. When they arrived at the house, Cardinal was found outside walking around with a suitcase, which contained a sawed-off. 22 rifle with no serial number.
“This is the very thing the courts have been talking about when they reference the scourge of gun crime. There is no non-crime true purpose for someone to have this firearm, let alone Mr. Cardinal,” said Crown prosecutor Matthew Kerr.
At the time of the offence, Cardinal was under a firearms prohibition and will have a lifetime ban on owning any guns once he concludes his sentence.
As part of his submissions, Kerr referenced Cardinal’s criminal record, which includes 29 convictions in the last eight years, with 15 of those being judicial breaches.
Cardinal declined to speak before his sentencing but his lawyer, Gabriel Unah, talked about his upbringing in a violent home, as well as other Gladue factors for the judge to take into account during the sentence.
“Those started off a lot of issues in his life and we can see the effect of what happens subsequently,” said Unah.
“When you’re exposed to substances and alcohol by the age of eight and nine, there’s no telling what is going to happen.”
The 600-day sentence was a joint submission from Kerr and Unah, meaning Justice Carrie-Ann Downey had to determine if it was appropriate for the crime.
“There’s a concern whenever guns are used in any community, particularly in rural communities with respect to public safety, and in this particular instance Mr. Cardinal had no legitimate purpose to have that gun,” said Downey.
Given Cardinal’s prior incarceration, the court waived the normal victim-fine surcharge, but he will have a 12-month probation order once he completes his custodial sentence.
