WESTLOCK – An area man caught with a SKS rifle and high-capacity magazine during a traffic stop in the early fall of 2022 received a six-month jail sentence, time deemed served as he’s been behind bars since October.
Appearing in Athabasca Provincial Court Feb. 6 via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC), Clayton Joseph Huppie pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of a firearm/weapon in a vehicle, while three counts of possession of a prohibited firearm and single charges of possession of a firearm/weapon in a vehicle, assault causing bodily harm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, plus charges under 92 (1) and 92 (2) of the Criminal Code, which relate to possession of a weapon without a licence, were withdrawn by Crown prosecutor Nicole Parker.
Judge Joanne Heudes agreed to a joint-sentence submission from Parker and defence lawyer David Keyes that Huppie serve six months in jail, time deemed served by the 129 “actual days” he’s been behind bars at the ERC credited at one-to-one-and-a-half. Huppie, who was scheduled to be released from custody following his court appearance, also faces a lifetime weapons ban, while all the items seized during his arrest were forfeited to the Crown.
Clad in an orange jumpsuit at the ERC, Huppie said he “was sorry for the trouble he brought to the court” and is “looking to turn a new leaf here pretty soon” and told the court he’s enrolled in a drug treatment centre and “will take it from there.”
“I’m very glad to hear you’ve booked yourself into a treatment centre. I do see gaps in your record, so you’ve definitely had some good, healthy times and I do see times where you’ve lapsed as well,” said Judge Heudes. “I think the sentence being proposed is consistent with what has been handed out for prior, similar offences.”
Keyes said Huppie, who’s he represented previously, has a “very troubled past” and comes to court with significant “Gladue factors” having spent much of his childhood “going in and out of women’s shelters with his mother.”
“This guilty plea did matter and saved an enormous amount of court time. The Crown had proceeded by indictment and that means it could have gone into King’s Bench with a judge and jury trial and been very time consuming and very difficult for the justice system to deal with procedurally,” said Keyes.
The crime
Parker told court that on Sept. 30, 2022, Lac La Biche RCMP were investigating an incident that occurred around the Heart Lake First Nation and “a person of interest was Clayton Huppie.” Following, RCMP located a vehicle “allegedly involved in the incident” at a gas station being fueled up by Huppie and he was arrested.
“As members were speaking to the driver of the vehicle it was clear a bottle of vodka was in easy reach of the driver and a search of the vehicle was done pursuant to the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act,” said Parker.
During the search, police found a high-capacity, semi-automatic rifle magazine and after closer inspection it was revealed “the magazine had been tampered with” allowing it to hold 11 rounds of ammunition.
Also found was an SKS rifle under a blanket behind the passenger seat while Parker noted that surveillance video had showed Huppie exiting the vehicle from the passenger seat where the magazine had been located.
“And at the time Mr. Huppie was bound by a number of lifetime firearms and weapons prohibitions meaning he was breaching those orders,” added Parker.
