WESTLOCK – A Westlock-area man caught with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and a .357 handgun in the cab of his pick-up truck in April 2020, received a conditional discharge that includes a year-and-a-half of probation, plus community service hours, while both weapons will be destroyed.
In Westlock Provincial Court Jan. 4, Judge Joanne Heudes sided by defence lawyer David Keyes and sentenced Jesse Francis O’Brien, 37, to an 18-month conditional sentence order (CSO) that includes probation and 50 hours of community service — in court July 27, 2022, O’Brien had pleaded guilty to two charges of careless use/storage of a firearm, while sentencing was put over for completion of a pre-sentence report.
“I think that the position offered by the defence is more suitable and I would agree that in some ways it’s more onerous as it puts more obligations on him,” said Judge Heudes. “I think you’re committed to a plan of action and when I look at your prior record, I don’t see anything firearms related, I see alcohol abuse has been the largest thing hanging in your life that has caused you to make some poor decisions along the way and that’s the real demon you need to be tackling so you’re not here again.”
Crown prosecutor Brett Grierson, who had proposed a $500 fine per count and withdrew three additional careless use/storage of a firearm charges, said O’Brien had a “largely unremarkable upbringing” but noted “consistent use of hard drugs in his 20s and infrequent use in his 30s” and a “high amount of alcohol which is consumed by this individual.” Grierson, highlighting O’Brien’s dated criminal record that included two impaired driving convictions, plus a Wildlife Act charge of hunting without a licence, said both seized weapons will be destroyed by the Crown.
Keyes called the CSO and the accompanying probation order “more onerous” compared to the fines as O’Brien, who gave up his Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) and Restricted PAL following his arrest and had other firearms seized by police, will have to complete a gun safety course, plus any other treatment as directed by probation in addition to the community-service hours.
“He has not been in possession of any firearms since this offence and that has had an impact on his lifestyle. My client is remorseful for not treating these lethal weapons with more care and is angry and annoyed at himself for behaving this way,” said Keyes.
“We see the conditional discharge in some ways as being more punitive than what the Crown was proposing. My client is willing to participate in actual rehabilitative steps. This is by no way him getting off easy. We consider this fair and appropriate and gives him a chance to right this wrong and to also not have his criminal record further scathed.”
The crime
At his July 27 appearance, Crown prosecutor Alison Moore told court that on April 25, 2020, a Westlock RCMP officer was on patrol in town when he spotted a pick-up truck blocking the alley behind a residence on 109th Street. Moore told court that when the constable looked inside the passenger window of the truck, he saw a Remington 12-gauge, pistol-grip style shotgun “with several shells attached to the grip area with the safety off” leaning against the centre console. A corporal was called in to assist at the scene when O’Brien showed up and said he owned the truck.
Grierson said a further police search of the vehicle revealed a loaded .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum handgun in the centre console in “a cloth holster.” Moore said when police searched the shotgun they found six buckshot shells in the magazine tube, while more loose ammo was also found in the centre console of the truck.
