The operator of a local ranch was given a 12-month suspended sentence and a $2,300 fine for two firearms charges.
James Hardy, 72, pleaded guilty to careless use/storage of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm in Athabasca Provincial Court on May 28.
Hardy operates the Rainbow Ranch, just outside Rochester, where the firearms in question were located.
Local police officers received an anonymous tip on June 17, 2011, that resulted in the execution of a search warrant at the property on July 7.
Following Hardy’s arrest, Athabasca RCMP Sgt. Brian Scott said police received the tip from an individual temporarily residing at the ranch who “noticed some oddities.”
Based on that information, police executed the search warrant and charged Hardy with voyeurism and nine gun-related offences.
The weapons were found throughout the residence and outer buildings.
None of them were properly registered or licensed and they were improperly stored. In addition, a shotgun had two live rounds in its magazine.
During the execution of the warrant, police also seized a number of items related to the voyeurism charge.
Voyeurism is defined in the Criminal Code as surreptitiously observing – including by mechanical or electronic means – or making a visual recording of a person who is in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy.
The Crown prosecutor entered a stay of proceedings on the voyeurism charge, which means the Crown could proceed with prosecuting that charge at a later date.
At the same time, the Crown also withdrew the seven remaining firearms charges.
The sentence was provided as a joint submission by the Crown prosecutor and Hardy’s lawyer.
His lawyer said this was Hardy’s first brush with the law and that there was no indication as to the weapons being used improperly except for the improper storage.
Judge Hugh Fuller agreed with the joint submission, giving Hardy a $2,300 fine for careless use/storage of a firearm and a 12-month suspended sentence for the unauthorized possession charge.
The conditions of the probation include a no-contact order with certain people in relation to the voyeurism charge, and the requirement that no one other than immediate family or relatives are allowed to reside or stay over night on the ranch.
Hardy was also given a three-year weapons prohibition and a forfeiture of the items seized, with the exception of a personal Samsung digital camera.
The Rainbow Ranch was a venue for an annual fundraiser for the Canadian Centre for Missing Children and also hosted the “It Shouldn’t Hurt to be a Child” Trail Ride for 20 years, before calling it quits after the 2011 ride.
